A Tale Of Two Abbys
by Alex Beckett
Summary: One night, a case ends very badly for the NCIS squad and scares even Abby. What happens when she looks for comfort in the most unexpected of places? Who does she turn to?
1. One

**I don't own anything, but special thanks to the muse for inspiration for this ;)**

* * *

Abby loved her job at the NCIS as the resident forensic/weapons expert. She really did. She loved the science of it all, and she loved that she could use science, and she loved that she could use the science to put wrongdoers away.

But then there were nights like tonight that she just wanted to forget. Nights when arrests had been made, but innocent people had still died.

The sadness had gotten to everybody, and while Vance left to be with his family, everyone else decided to go to their favorite bar together. When Ziva invited Abby to come along, Abby was upstairs that she was ready before everyone else was.

Gibbs left The Pope And Anchor first, after an hour, presumably to go be alone and work on his latest boat. Palmer left not long after him. Ducky was next, and then McGee politely begged off. Tony held out longer, but he, too, left in due course, going home to drown his sorrows in more alcohol, but this time with Chinese takeout, and old movies.

Eventually, Abby and Ziva were the last ones left, and they were enjoying each other's company a great deal. After they forgot their woes about the case and were both a tad buzzed, Abby challenged Ziva to a drinking contest. Ignoring Ziva's warning that she had always been able to hold her liquor with a "pish-posh!" comment and and a speech about how she also could because she was from New Orleans, Abby ordered the first round of shooters and commenced to lay two dollars down, saying that whomever was the most stable after six shooters was the winner and got to keep the money.

Before long, Abby was out twelve dollars, and Ziva was putting her in a taxicab.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

Abby gave him the first address that popped into her head, even though it wasn't hers. "Please take me to Collingwood Row—Number 2278."

Pleased with herself that she could remember, Abby leaned back in her seat and watched the city go by as the taxi began to move.

* * *

Abigail Borin had just had a very nice day off. Over at the CGIS building, they had recently suffered from a case ending badly, too, so she'd given her team a day off. Abigail really loved her own job with the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and she loved having a team of her own, but she also knew when everybody needed a recharge after things going wrong. Things had been so bad that she didn't think twice about telling her team to stay home for a day.

Abigail knew that most people thought of her as a little standoffish and as a bit of an enigma, and she wouldn't lie—she was that way because she'd spent most of her life getting lost in the shuffle of having four other siblings, forcing her to stake her claim in the world as early as she could, and however she could. What she found amusing was that even though she had her own team at CGIS, the NCIS team still knew her best. In general, CGIS was treated as a stepping stone to better job positions at other agencies, and after being a team leader for ten years, none of the original people who had started out with her remained, having all moved on. Abigail quite liked the NCIS team because for as odd as they were, they were still a constant in her life, and they always treated like family… even if Tony, Tim, and Ziva had all been known to hit on her before, or else dare each other to do it. They were weird, but when she was around them, they still gave her more attention than her actual family did, and for that, she would always be thankful.

Truthfully, she adored the whole NCIS team, but she had always had a soft spot for Abby. Maybe it was because they both had the same name, or maybe because the scientist's vast intellect had always appealed to her… she had never been able to figure it out. One thing Abigail definitely knew for sure was that for sure was that she had always found Abby Scuito very cute, and sometimes—but only when she was home alone, talking to her pets—she considered asking her out on a date.

This was one of those nights, and she didn't even have any liquor in her system yet.

* * *

 _DING DONG!_

Abigail was startled out of her thoughts by her doorbell ringing. Quickly shushing her pets as they all reacted to the sound, Abigail crossed the living room to her front door.

She was very surprised to see who was on the other side.

"Abby?! What are _you_ doing here?"

"C—*hic* Can I come in?" she hiccuped.

"Of course you can."

Still perplexed, Abigail moved aside and let her friend in, but then she noticed that even after Abby crossed the threshold and she had closed the door behind her, the goth was remaining stationary and staring at nothing in particular.

"Hey, in there." Abigail patted her cheek. "You okay?"

Abby heaved a theatrical sigh as she made eye contact with the redhead. "Ever have *hic* one of those days at work *hic* where things end badly?"

"Yes."

"Well, it *hic* happened to us today. The world *hic* isn't fair."

Abigail nodded in agreement. "What happened when you all closed the case? Did you go to The Pope And Anchor?

"Yes, and I challenged Ziva *hic* to a drinking contest."

"Been there, done that. What did you drink?"

"Tequila shooters. I think."

Abigail fought back a laugh. "Dare I ask how you figured out where I live?"

"Two words: hacking."

"Sweetie, that's _one_ word, and a _teensy_ bit illegal."

Abby made a pouty face so adorable that Abigail nearly went weak in the knees.

"Are you going to arrest me?" Abby asked in a small voice. "Tonight *hic* I found out to never challenge a ninja to a drinking contest because th-they *hic* will make you not win. Getting arrested would just be a *hic* bummer because my ninja just got me drunk."

Abigail helped Abby out of her coat and led her to the couch. "I won't arrest you, but I will take care of you tonight and make you breakfast in the morning, alright?"

"Okay."

"You just stay there, and I'll go get you some water. Don't mind the animals."

Abby only half-heard what Abigail had said because she was too busy watching her backside. She had a start when she turned around and saw she was face-to-face with a very large Maine Coon cat and a trio of Great Danes.

"Hi, babies." Abby said in surprise. "Where did you all come from?"

The cat jumped lightly up onto Abby's lap and and curled up, purring and arching its back when Abby started stroking its fur.

As for the first Great Dane, it had a white body and black splotches all over, including its nose, tail, and paws. The second one was a beautiful steely grey color, and the third one was a beautiful golden color that reminded Abby of wheat, late on a summer day.

The splotched dog approached first, jumping up onto the couch and bumping Abby with his nose.

"Do *hic* you want a hug, b-baby *hic* boy?" Abby asked with a giggle. "I can do that."

Abby hugged the massive animal around the neck and shoulders, and the soft thumping told her that he was wagging his tail in enjoyment. Deciding that the stranger was alright, the other dogs began jockeying for Abby's attention and affection while the cat actually fell asleep, very used to the silliness of the dogs.

Abby began doting on her new furry friends, talking to them and giving them hugs, rubs, and kisses.

When Abigail returned with a glass of water for Abby, she felt her heart melt a little. She didn't have people over often and she wasn't big into bringing dates home, so it brought her a lot of joy to see Abby loving on her pets the way she was.

"So I see you've met part of the gang." Abigail sat beside her friend and held out a glass of ice water. "I'll introduce you to everyone else, but drink this first."

Abby took the glass and she drank, but she downed it a little too quickly and handed the glass back. "Oh, that's a brain freeze! Brain freeze, brain freeze, brain freeze!"

Immediately, the splotched dog nudged the cat out of Abby's lap with its nose, laying his head against her stomach and looking up at his new friend. Abby strolled him him and talked to him until she could focus again.

Free of her hiccups and her stutters, Abby said, "What were we talking about?"

"You are clearly not with it, but that's okay." Abigail answered patiently. "I'm going to show you my pets, here, and tell you their names."

"Okay, go."

Abigail pointed to the splotched dog, who was now completely stretched out. "This love bug is Darwin. He loves hugs."

"How old is he?"

"Two-and-a-half, but so are the others: all three of my dogs are brothers, and nobody wanted them at the adoption fair. I just knew they were all meant to mine, so I left with three dogs that day."

"Awwww." Abby pointed to the grey dog. "Who's this?"

"Bowser. He loves to play the most, and he's the only one who doesn't bark at the mailman."

"Silly boy." Abby giggled and then frowned as she felt a sudden weight against her left calf. "What was that?"

"Bowser's found you comfortable and curled up—that means he likes you."

"Well, I like him." Abby noticed the last dog, who had also climbed up onto the couch and was laying with his head and paws in Abigail's lap. "Who's baby boy number three?"

"Scooby. He loves to play, too, but woebetide if he or Bowser hear a sneeze."

"How come?"

"They turn into sissies and scatter."

Abby snickered. "Your puppies are weird."

Abigail nodded in agreement. "Yes, but not as weird as this one."

By 'this one,' Abigail meant her cat, who was now slinking back towards them.

"This diva is called Ruby, like the Supernatural villain. I've had her since she was eight weeks old, and she's four now."

"Abigail, she's beautiful, but humongous is the word."

Ruby was the biggest house cat Abby had ever seen in her life, way above the average size of a regular house cat. She also carried herself like she owned the place, and the fact that Darwin was unperturbed when Ruby walked across his back to reach his destination just proved it even more. She sat on Abby's knees again, basking in attention when Abby gave it to her.

"I was warned when I adopted her that she'd get this big," Abigail said, recalling an old memory. "But she was my first fur baby, and I wouldn't change a single thing about her."

"Awww—hey, what are you doing?"

Abigail had moved Scooby out of her lap and was now crouching in front of Abby, undoing the buckles on her boots for her.

"I'm undoing your boots and taking them off your feet for you because we're going to see the rest of my animals, and the last thing we need is for you to take you to the emergency room because you tripped over one of your boots and twisted an ankle."

"Then Gibbs would quote rule number eleventyseven at you—never leave a cutie pie behind."

"Okay, eleventyseven is _not_ a word _or_ a number, and I'm positive that never leave a cutie pie behind is not one of The Rules."

Abby pouted. "So is it one of _yours?"_

"Okay," Abigail decided. "Sure."

Abby paused and looked around as she struggled to fight through her alcohol-clouded brain. "What were we doing?"

"Just stay still, sweetie. I'm almost done."

Abby saluted, and a short while later, Abigail had her out of her platform boots and was helping her stand up straight.

"You're pretty." Abby told her companion.

Abigail felt a blush creeping in almost immediately: as she hadn't been expecting any company on the closing hours of her day off, she been wearing her favorite pair of blue silken pajamas for the last few hours, since returning from the last of her errands. She was also sans makeup, and her long red hair was done up in a messy bun. She knew full well that Abby wasn't with the program, but the compliment still made her heart jump.

"You're not so bad yourself, Starshine."

Abby beamed. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course."

"Whenever I see you, I want to kiss you."

Now Abigail felt her heart turn over—she felt the same way about Abby, and always had, ever since their first meeting.

"What are the chance that you'll remember this tomorrow?"

"Pretty damn high. It may be holey in some place, though."

Abigail took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I want to kiss you, too, Abby, but I will not have our first kiss be when you're drunk."

"Good call." Abby said seriously.

"So if you can remember this part of the night tomorrow, call me and I'll take on a date, during which we _definitely_ kiss. How does that sound?"

Abby made the sign for perfect, then said, "Can we see your zoo now?"

"They are not a zoo, but yes, we can, and look who wants to join."

While Ruby, Bowser, and Scooby had taken the couch, Darwin was standing loyally beside Abby, as though he was at attention.

Abby patted her thigh. "Come along, doggo."

And he did, following right beside her, spotting her when she wobbled, all the way upstairs.

"I have a bearded dragon called Spyro, and he sleeps in my study," Abigail said, pointing at a closed door they passed by in the hallway. "But he's kind of a grump at night, so you'll meet him next time."

"Then who are we seeing now?"

"The birds."

They had arrived in front of a door at the end of the hallway. Abby didn't know what to expect, but she was curious when Darwin curled up next to the door and began to doze.

"Come on." Abigail opened to the door and ushered Abby in. "They're in here."

Abby found herself in a beautifully decorated room, where against one wall, she immediately noticed a large, beautiful aviary against one wall. It was made of polished oak, and all of the doors were set with glass, allowing you to see inside. There were also overhead lights on the ceiling of the aviary, and Abby found herself looking upon quite a number of perches and landings, feeding areas, toys, and mirrors. This was nothing compared to the aviary's inhabitants, though: inside, and in several different shades, were a vast amount of Budgerdair birds.

Abby turned to Abigail, gaping. "Why do you have eleventyseven budgies?"

"Again, sweetie," Abigail said as she closed the door behind them. "Eleventyseven isn't a number or a word, and there are actually ten birds in there."

"Do they all have names?"

"No."

"Then the budgies will be more fun when I'm sober."

Abby turned and looked around the room, taking in her surroundings. What grabbed her attention immediately was a different aviary on the opposite wall.

"What lives here," she asked, crossing over to examine it. "And is there a squad?"

"Neptune lives there, and he's an African Grey Parrot."

"Those are the chattery kind, right?"

"Uh-huh, and he's hopping around, watching us." Abigail crossed the room and put her hand on the aviary's door handle. "He's really friendly. Do you want to meet hm?"

"Alright."

Abigail opened the aviary and after a moment of coaxing, she emerged from the aviary, approaching Abby with Neptune perched on her finger.

"Abby, say hello to Neptune."

Abby bobbed her head as she moved closer. "Hello to Neptune."

Abigail chuckled. "Hold your finger out like a perch."

"Why?" Abby asked as she obliged.

Abigail gave Neptune a stroke on the head and chirped, "Hop!"

Immediately, Neptune hopped the short distance from his mistress' finger to Abby's.

"That's Abby." Abigail told her bird.

Neptune whistled at Abby and moved closer. "Abby, Abby! Pretty Abby!"

"Ugh." Abigail groaned. "How is my bird a better flirt than me?"

Abby arched an eyebrow at her. "What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Abby turned her attention back to Neptune. "Your mommy's pretty funny."

Neptune just kept whistling and chattering away, Abby giggling all the while.

Abigail watched the goth for a minute, playing with Neptune. If she was this gentle with the animals when she wasn't fully with it, then she was probable the same or even more gentle when she was sober. That made Abigail happy because she'd always known that she couldn't or wouldn't be with anyone who was less than gentle towards her pets.

Cut it out, Abigail! she scolded herself. She is extremely beautiful, but you don't even know what way she swings!

"Hey, are you okay?"

She was shaken from her thoughts when she saw Abby watching her as she entertained Neptune.

"It's nothing that can't wait until you're totally sober."

"But I'm sotally tober now!" Abby protested.

"No, you're not, and we both know it. Are you hungry?"

"I don't know. What time is it?"

"Just after eight, according to my watch. Think you can handle food?"

Abby decided that she could, and it was with reluctance that she watched Abigail put Neptune back in his aviary. She did, however, perk up considerably when Abigail suggested they order pizza.

* * *

"Wait, how come there's no wine? This is lemonade."

It was fifteen minutes later. The pizza had been ordered, and Abigail had poured them both glasses of lemonade when they returned to the living room. At this point in the night, Abigail would usually be curled up with the animals on the couch, watching something on the television. Watching Abby, especially now that she was flanked by Ruby, Darwin, Bowser, and Scooby again was far more entertaining.

"Because," Abigail replied. "We don't need you getting any more drunk and showing up to work with a four-alarm hangover."

"Rule eleventyseven, part two: pick your cutie pie and protect them."

"Then how come _you_ don't have wine?"

"Because I don't want to encourage you."

"Awww. You're a good friend!" Abby looked to Darwin, who was beside her again. "Your mommy is a good person, doggo."

Darwin gave a soft bark, as though agreeing, and then laid his head back down in Abby's lap, wagging his tail enthusiastically as she massaged him in between the ears, rolling over onto his back when she hit a sweet spot. Abigail watched them.

Come what will, or come what may, Abigail found herself thinking, I'll do whatever it takes to stop being shy around Abby. She's worth it.

Abigail's thoughts continued to run away with her until the food arrived.

* * *

It didn't take Abby very long to fall asleep on a full stomach, and when she woke up the next morning, it was with a start and only a one-alarm hangover.

"Where am I?" she asked herself as she studied her surroundings and pajamas. "What the hell happened last night?"

At the sound of her voice, Darwin came running in from the hallway and propped his front paws up on the bed, poking his head over. His arrival prompted a flood of memories, and though things were holey, as she'd predicted, she definitely remembered that she was at Abigail Borin's house, and that she'd shown up drunk. She also remembered calling Abigail pretty, and that they had both expressed a mutual desire to kiss the other person but hadn't acted on it.

"Oh, boy, Darwin." Abby sighed. "I better go find your mommy."

Darwin bumped her hand with his paw, wanting her attention for something specific. On further inspection, Abby noticed a note pinned to her furry friend's collar. She un lipped it and began to read.

 _'Good morning, Abby!_

 _It's Abigail Borin, just in case you're confused. You showed up on my doorstep drunk last night, saying you lost a drinking contest with Ziva, so I took care of you. You bonded with all of my pets that I introduced you to, especially Darwin, here._

 _Feel free to use my shower—you showed up with a bag of clothes that look like they belong to you, so I left everything in the bathroom for you._

 _Hurry along—I'm cooking breakfast!'_

Moving at top speed, Abby showered and dressed, did her hair and makeup, and made her bed before hurrying downstairs, her spiked accessories in her hands, and Darwin, trotting beside her.

"Good morning, Starshine." Abigail greeted her. "Sleep well?"

Abby nodded, slightly apprehensive as she sat down and Darwin stretched out on the floor beside her. "Uh-huh. Where did you sleep?"

"On the couch—it pulls out."

"I didn't mean to put you out of your bed, Abigail. I'm sorry."

"Thank nothing of it." Abigail said sincerely. "You almost fell asleep standing up after I got you to wear after I got you to wear pajamas from my closet. Do you remember anything?"

"All of it, just like I said I would. I especially remember Neptune hitting on me, and also that I called you pretty."

Abigail set a plate of scrambled eggs and buttered toast in front of her. "That definitely happened, and I definitely didn't mind you calling me pretty."

"Okay, because you are very pretty, and I don't know that I would have the courage to say that to you while sober, and—now you're staring at me like I'm an idiot."

Abigail had laid out the utensils, glasses and a pitcher of orange juice, before sitting opposite Abby with her own food. She was watching her guest, amused.

"Actually, I was just thinking about how I've always had a soft spot for you, and that I've always found you adorable."

Abby blushed. "Really?"

"Really. I've always been a little too shy to say it, and then I see you make eyes at McGee, so I just don't day anything."

"You really need to come around to NCIS more than once a year. McGee is more like my brother now, and we're both perfectly fine with it."

"Copy that. Now I just need to figure out what the deal is with Tony and Ziva."

"What do you mean?"

"Are into each other, or what? They act like it, but when I show up, they trip over themselves to hit on me."

"Oh, that." Abby laughed. "Well, they're both kinky people, and they probably wouldn't mind a threeway."

"Abby!" protested the redhead. "The sun isn't even up yet!"

"Okay, okay. Here's the 411: they enjoy making each other jealous, and they often make bets on who can get the most dates, but they never truly act on it because they're madly in love with each other. You just happen to be their favorite bet subject, Abigail Irene, because you intrigue all of us."

"Then do you remember the bargain we made?"

"You mean the one had to do with me confessing that I wanted to kiss you, and then you said you wanted to kiss me back, but you wouldn't because I was intoxicated?"

"Yes, that. Do you remember anything else about the bargain?"

"To call you if I remembered having the conversation—you said you'd take me on a date."

Abigail smiled lovingly at her. "Which I will."

Abby felt her stomach flip. "O-okay."

"Two more things before we eat: how bad _was_ the case that you decided it was a good idea to challenge _Ziva_ in a drinking contest, and _how_ did you know where I live?"

"It was _bad,_ and I knew your address because Gibbs made me check you out the first time you showed up."

 _"What?!"_

"I'm just kidding—Tony and Ziva made me."

"Of course they did." Abigail sighed. "That's probably when you learned that my middle name is Irene, and also when my birthday is, huh?"

"Yup, and just to be even, I _am_ older than you, but we have the same birthday, and my middle name is Ramona."

"That's really pretty."

"Thanks." Abby grinned and then sighed. "I really hope NCIS and CGIS work together again."

"So do I, Abby. So do I."

* * *

Abby didn't want to leave Number 2278 Collingwood Row for a variety of reasons, but she had no choice because she had to go to work, and she didn't want Gibbs to send out a search party. As she'd left her car at NCIS the previous day and carpooled with Ziva to the bar, Abigail dropped her off at NCIS before driving to the CGIS building, which was well on the other side of The Navy Yard. Before parting ways, Abigail presented Abby with a thermos that was filled with a Bloody Mary, so as to perk Abby up and help her battle her way through her hangover.

Unfortunately, the thermos was her undoing.

* * *

"How was the rest of the evening after you left the bar?" Ziva asked as they congregated at her desk. "Where did you go?"

Abby chose her words carefully. "I went to a friend's house."

"Would this be the same friend was gave you a thermos with a Bloody Mary in it?"

"Y—"

Abby was cut off as Tony sidled up to them, looking sly.

"What, no Caff-Pow?" he asked.

"She has a Bloody Mary, Tony." Ziva informed him.

"Oh, so this means that our favorite forensics/weapons expert had sex last night."

"I DID NOT!" protested Abby.

Ziva adopted a playful tone. "The question is, _whose_ company did she keep in the night?"

Tony feigned shock. "You mean she hasn't told you yet?"

This whole time, Abby was beginning to feel hot under her collar: she was head-over-heels in love with Abigail Irene Borin, and the feeling was pretty mutual on the other end. All she wanted to was to be in her lab, listening to music while she talked to her machines to sort out her feelings. Right now, she was getting dangerously close to saying Abigail's name, and she didn't want to, just yet.

McGee choose this moment to come join his friends, having spotted their powwow when he stepped off the elevator.

He greeted Tony and Ziva, but when he saw Abby holding her thermos, "Is your Caff-Pow in the thermos?"

"TAKE A NUMBER, TIMMY!" Abby cried before dashing to the elevator and boarding it as quickly as she could.

Ziva, Tony, and McGee stared after her at the closed elevator doors, each of them wondering what kind of bee she had in her bonnet.

"What are you all staring at?" came a new voice.

The trio jumped and turned to see Gibbs before them, a cup of coffee in one hand, and a full Caff-Pow cup in the other. They immediately began arguing over who was going to bring the Caff-Pow to the lab.

Ziva won, and she found Abby in her office, at her desk, just staring into space. Her music was even playing, but it was quiet and only on for background noise.

"I will not ask you again where you went last night because I do not wish to pry," Ziva said as she put the Caff-Pow down on the desk. "But I will ask you this—are you okay?"

Abby sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking up at Ziva. "Have you ever been with a woman romantically?"

"Yes, but not since before I left Tel Aviv to come here, looking for Ari. Why do you ask? Do you 'swing that way,' as the saying goes?"

"Yes, I do." Abby smiled vaguely. "Ziva, have you ever met a woman who just dazzles you and adores you, but also makes you feel like you need to sit down and think about your life?"

"Yes, actually."

"What was her name?"

"Kefira Kahn."

"What happened to Kefira Kahn?"

"She had leukemia and passed away."

Abby's heart lurched. "Oh, Ziva, I'm _so_ sorry."

Ziva patted her friend's cheek affectionately. "It was a long time ago. You did not know."

"What would have happened if she hadn't died?"

"I am sure I would have married her, even if it meant leaving Israel and resigning from the Mossad." Ziva looked at Abby with the soft gaze of an adoring baby sister. "Have you found a person who dazzles you and adores you? Is this what happened last night?"

"Yes, and whenever I think about her, I feel butterflies in my stomach."

Ziva patted Abby on the cheek again. "You will sort it out, but I am a phone call away, should you need anything."

"Thank y—"

 _BEEP!_

This time, Abby was interrupted by Ziva's phone. Ziva sighed when she read the text she had been sent.

"We have a case—it is a child abduction from a mall, so I suggest you brace yourself."

Abby picked up Bert the farting hippo from where she'd placed him on her desk. "I'll do my best."

Ziva nodded her approval and when she left, Abby spoke to her toy.

"This is going to be a long day, Bert. We need to be on the top of our game."

She gave him a hug. He farted.

Abby also switched from the Bloody Mary (though it was excellent) to the Caff-Pow, and soon began to feel back to herself.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the Millennium Crossings Shopping Center, Abigail and her team had arrived on the scene first because the services of CGIS were needed.

They had only been there a short while when she heard a familiar voice.

"Can someone show me where Special Agent Borin is?"

Abigail turned at the sound of her name and promptly winced: crossing under the caution tape was Gibbs, and as always, Tony, McGee, and Ziva followed, as loyal to him as Darwin was to Abby.

Crap, Abigail thought as she waved them over. So much for a date with Abby any time soon—this is going to be a long case.


	2. Two

**Sorry it's been more than a spell!**

 **After Abby shows up drunk at Abigail Borin's house, and Abigail takes care of her, NCIS' and CGIS' paths cross the very next morning on a case.**

 **This is for Livia, because she asked ;)**

* * *

"Nice to see you again, Special Agent Borin." said Gibbs when he, Tony, Ziva, and McGee drew level with her. "We've really got to stop meeting like this, though."

"I agree." Abigail nodded and looked around. "No Ducky or Palmer?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No body, right?"

Abigail nodded. "Right."

Gibbs shrugged. "So no need. They're back at HQ."

Abigail grinned at her friend's colloquialism and turned to Tony and Ziva, an eyebrow arched. "Not even a hello?"

The redhead remembered what Abby had said about how Tony and Ziva liked to make bets with each other about how many dates they could get, and that she was often the subject of said bets. She wasn't surprised to see them check her out, but she almost took a step backwards when she saw Ziva. The younger woman was looking at her in a way that Abigail interpreted as the cat who ate the canary; did Ziva know about her and Abby? It was like she could see straight through her.

However, Ziva did speak first. "It is nice to see you again, Abigail, circumstances being what they are."

Abigail nodded in agreement. "Likewise."

Ziva nudged Tony, who was beside her, and hissed, "Put your eyes back in your head and talk to her!"

"Good morning, Borin." he said quickly. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well." she answered, while privately remembering her night with Abby.

They all turned to McGee, who jumped when he realized he was the only one who hadn't said anything yet.

"What brings the CGIS to a crime scene with NCIS?" was all he could think of to say.

"I'm glad you asked." Abigail beckoned for her friends to follow her away from a crowd of onlookers at the crime scene tape. "This way, please."

They had met in front of a clothing store, but they relocated to a food court that had also been blocked off and was empty, save for some members of Abigail's team, a few LEOs, and a pair of EMTs, who were tending to a young, heavily pregnant woman at one of the nearby tables. She was a distraught mess.

"The woman over at the table is Junior Field Agent Grace Morgan." Abigail explained. "She's NCIS."

"I recognize her." Ziva said in surprise. "She works in the mail room as a clerk. I believe she is married to someone from Coast Guard, yes?"

"Yes. His name is Petty Officer First Class Noah Morgan, and I know him very well, but he was at the Navy Yard—I saw him a few hours ago."

"What has happened?"

Abigail sighed. "Grace and Noah have legal guardianship over Grace's twelve-year-old sister, Lucille, and her ten-year-old sister, Tallulah. Right now, Grace is due any day with hers and Noah's first child. She told me that she brought the girls here today to take them shopping—there's an in-school work day for the teachers right now. She also wanted to spend some time with Lucille and Tallulah before the baby comes."

"Understandable." said Gibbs.

"Grace honestly doesn't know for sure what happened—Lucille and Tallulah were gone, without a trace or a cry."

In note-taking mode, pen and pad of paper in hand, Tony inquired, "How long ago was this?"

"An hour. The mall is lockdown because Lucille and Tallulah have special needs."

"What kind?"

"They are both use hearing aides because they're both hard of hearing without them. Grace also said that her sisters are autistic."

McGee furrowed his brow. "Then could they have run off somewhere?"

"Grace doubts it because the are very good at staying close to her, or not wandering off. She let them go to the arcade for a minute while she threw their trash out from lunch, and that's when they were gone."

"Did she find anything that belongs to them in there?"

"Grace found where her sisters' jackets draped over the back of a chair beside the Whack-A-Mole machine."

"Have those been turned into the K-9 team?"

Abigail nodded. "Yes, and then Grace called for mall security after that… and me. I called for you all, and here we are."

"Has anyone called Noah yet?"

"I did." Abigail confirmed. "He's on his way."

"Where's your team?"

Abigail pointed to the arcade. "Some are in there, dusting for prints, and the others are out in the hallway by the concourse, waiting for the K-9 dogs to arrive."

"Very good." Gibbs turned to his team. "DiNozzo!"

Tony looked up from his notes. "Yes, boss?"

"Go find Borin's people who are waiting for the K-9 unit. I'll be there in a minute."

"Yes, boss!"

Tony put his note-taking equipment away and set out at a steady jog in the direction he needed to go—the food court was very big.

When he was gone, Gibbs looked to McGee next. However, McGee appeared to anticipate what the older man was thinking.

"You want me to go over to the arcade place and speak Nerd, boss?"

"And to help them, but yes." Gibbs made a shooing motion with his hand. "Go on."

"What about me?" Ziva asked. "Shall I go sit with Grace?"

"Yes," was all Gibbs said before leaving for the K-9 unit people.

That left Abigail alone with Ziva.

"What are you thinking?" Abigail asked, hoping that it wasn't what she thought it was.

"That you are sitting on a secret of some sort, and that it is a shame that we do not have Abby here because she is an expert with body language."

"Yeah." Abigail agreed. "What?"

For Ziva was looking at her again like the cat that had eaten the canary.

"Nothing." she said quickly.

Yeah, right, thought Abigail.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Come with me, please." Abigail started walking and beckoned for Ziva to follow her. "I'll bring you to properly meet Grace ."

Ziva hurried along after her friend.

When they reached Grace's table, the EMTs stepped away to give them space.

"Grace," Abigail said gently. "Everything check out?"

The younger woman looked up and nodded at her. "I was nearly in danger of dehydrating myself because I've been crying so much."

"How are you doing now?"

"Worn out, and a little nauseas." Grace replied with a sigh. "You called Noah, right?"

Abigail nodded. "I did, and he's on his way. Do you think you can hang in there enough to talk to Officer David, here?"

Grace regarded Ziva quickly and nodded. "Yes, I do. Where are you going?"

"To direct traffic by the K-9 unit. I'll come find you when we have something new."

"Thank you."

Abigail stood and patted her friend's shoulder as she walked away. Grace turned to face Ziva. She was young—around Ziva's age, or a little bit younger—and she had fair skin, blond hair, and big brown eyes. She was dressed nicely, as one dresses when they go out in public, and she had a kind face, too, although it was red and puffy from her tears.

Grace wiped her eyes. "Officer David, right?"

"Yes, but please just call me Ziva. You've delivered mail to me a few times."

"Letters from Israel, especially. That's where you're from, right?"

Ziva nodded and sat with Grace. "Yes, I am. I miss it there."

"I know how it feels to miss the place you were born—I'm also from overseas."

This piqued Ziva's interest. "Where _were_ you born?"

"Japan. My dad is an admiral, and his mainstay is Yokosuka. You been?"

"I have not. When did you come to D.C.?"

Grace quickly did the math. "I had just turned seventeen, and I came here to join the Navy, but the second I was old enough, I joined NCIS. My little brother, James, joined the Navy less than a year ago. He wants to be NCIS, too."

"Where is he at the moment?"

"On a destroyer in the Indian Ocean. He loves it, and I'm really proud of him."

Ziva smiled. "So are there any more siblings besides you, James, Lucille, and Tallulah?"

"Uh-uh. Mom always wanted more, but it never happened because she had cancer twice after Tallulah was born. It took her last year."

"I am sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

Ziva thought a moment about the names of Grace and her siblings. "Were you and your siblings named for Grace Kelly, James Dean, Lucille Ball, and Tallulah Bankhead?"

"Very good. How did you know?"

"Special Agent DiNozzo is what you call a film buff. I share a work area with him."

"Good to know. My mom loved Old Hollywood, and my dad still does, so they decided to name us after the greats." Grace pointed to her big belly. "This is Katharine, and we named her after my mom."

"Was your mother named for Katharine Hepburn?"

Grace nodded. "Yes, and Lucille and Tallulah are really looking forward to meeting their niece. They do miss mom, though."

"I can imagine so. If I may—how old are you?"

"Twenty-two. Noah and I got married when we were eighteen, though, just after he got back from his first deployment."

"When did you adopt Lucille and Tallulah, then?"

"Six months ago—dad just couldn't cope, and asked Noah and I to take my sisters. We said yes, immediately, and even flew to Japan to get them and help them get adjusted."

"I imagine that with your sisters having special needs, things can be trying at times?"

"Yes, and sometimes, Tallulah has crazy tantrums, but they're my baby sisters. They're family. I love them the way I love Katharine, differences and all. I wouldn't change a day, and neither would Noah."

"Do Lucille and Tallulah do well in school?"

Grace gave a fond smile. "They do. They have some challenges in music class because of their hearing problems, but they're doing really well."

"Do they have any friends? Girls at the ages your sisters are can still be good with befriending people."

"Lucille's best friend is a girl named Kendra Fairbanks, and Tallulah's is a girl named Violet Conrad. They all go to the same school, and their parents all work in the NCIS mail room, too."

"Do you think they'd be willing to talk to me about your sisters?"

The smile fell off Grace's face. "Why? Do you think they know something? Chase, Tessa, Hank, and Jade are mine and Noah's best friends!"

"Talking to them is merely standard procedure." Ziva soothed, patting the younger woman on the arm. "Will you give me their full names, and the exact locations of where I can find them at NCIS?"

Grace wrote down her friends' information and handed it back Ziva.

"There you g—ohhh…"

Grace hunched over, clutching one side of her protruding middle. Slightly alarmed, Ziva instinctively held one of Grace's hands and let Grace use the other to brace herself against her her shoulder. Grace was clearly having a contraction. The paramedics tried to help, but Ziva discreetly shooed them away. When Grace's pan had passed, Ziva helped her sit back up.

She brushed Grace's hair out of her face and spoke gently to her. "When was your last contraction?"

"The day before yesterday." Grace admitted. "Katharine could come any time now, but I just had to get out of the house."

"Of course."

"Noah told me to stay put since my water could break if I sneeze too hard, or something, and to call him when it's time." Grace heaved a heavy sigh. "Lucille and Tallulah were just driving me bonkers today, so I distracted them by taking them out. Now they're gone. If I'd never left the house, I'd know where they were—this is all my fault!"

She burst into tears, and there was no consoling her, but thankfully, a new person came jogging up. He was a young man, dressed in slacks and a polo shirt with the NCIS acronym stitched in the right corner above the pocket, and 'MORGAN' stitched on the left side. He also had a black t-shirt on under his polo, polished Oxfords on his feet, and his hair was in a clean crew cut. Completing the look was a gold wedding band on his left hand. He reminded Ziva of what a younger Gibbs had probably been like.

This was Noah Morgan, Grace's husband.

When he reached Grace, he tried to talk to her, but she just shook her head, so Noah extended a hand to Ziva.

"Petty Officer First Class Noah Morgan, m'am, from CGIS."

Ziva shook his hand. "Officer Ziva David, NCIS—we are practically neighbors. At ease."

Noah relaxed as much as he could, given the situation.

"Is there any news on my sisters-in-law yet?"

"Not at the moment, no, but we will let you know."

"Thank you."

Ziva nodded. "I have already spoken with Grace, and gotten all the information I need. Also, Grace just had a contraction, not five minutes ago."

Noah immediately fussed over his wife, so Ziva got up and headed over to the other side of the room, where Abigail was set up at some kind of command post.

"What have you found out?" Abigail asked Ziva.

"Grace Morgan is due literally at any time, but she left the house because Lucille and Tallulah were fighting. She wanted to distract them."

"That's understandable—I have a big family, and I'm not the youngest. What else did you learn?"

"You know they are different, yes?"

Abigail nodded. "With the hearing, and the autism. Do they know about Stranger Danger?"

Ziva became puzzled. "What is that?"

"It's a basic lesson that every kid learns when they're little."

"Oh! I learned to swim because my father pushed me into the deep of the pool when I was a child."

Abigail stared. "What the h—never mind. Back on topic: did you learn anything else from Grace?"

"She said that Lucille and Tallulah are very affectionate little girls, and they both have their own best friends at school, named Kendra Fairbanks and Tallulah Conrad. Not only that, but Kendra's and Tallulah's parents also work at NCIS."

"In the mailroom?"

"Yes. Shall I go back to NCIS to talk to them?"

Abigail opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a call on radio from McGee. He'd moved on to the security room to review the security footage because Lucille and Tallulah had been spotted on it. Now there was a problem.

"Come on, Ziva!" Abigail beckoned to her. "This way!"

A few minutes later, they were in the security office with McGee. Gibbs was there, too.

"What's going on, McGee?" he asked. "I left DiNozzo with the K-9 unit."

"I sent the footage to Abby because it was fuzzy, and," he ducked a head swat aimed at him, for taking too long. "She cleaned it up so I can see things easier. I just got it back."

"And…?"

McGee put the new footage on the screen and pointed out the younger Morgan sisters on the screen. They all watched as Lucille and Tallulah left the arcade, following someone just out of the frame, all the way outside before being taken by their abductor into an awaiting van. Lucille and Tallulah could clearly be seen putting up a fight, but they were overpowered and the van sped off.

All the while, their abductor never showed their face or anything else that gave them away.

This day was getting even longer.


	3. Three

Abigail felt physically sick at what she'd seen on the screen, and for a fleeting moment, she imagined cuddling up in a bed with Abby. Given how physically affectionate she was, even while sober, were was a voice in the back of Abigail's head that told her cuddling with Abby Sciuto could be a possibility in the not-so-distant future.

She was brought down to reality with a bump.

"Hey! Borin!"

She jumped and saw Gibbs looking at her, a look of exasperation on his face.

"I'm with it, Gibbs, I swear." she said.

"Sure. Did you hear what I said?"

"No."

"What's the matter with you, Borin? You're usually more on the ball than this."

Abigail became touched that he was showing actual concern. "I'm _fine,_ Gibbs. What were you saying?"

"That I'm going to borrow your CGIS team to help _my_ team and the LEOs wrap some things up here. I want you, McGee, and Ziva to go back to NCIS."

He tossed something small at Abigail, and she caught it.

"Take that to to Abby—there's everything she needs to go over. It's a flash chip."

Abigail glanced down at what was in her hands. It was a flash drive.

"Gibbs, this is a—"

But he was already walking away.

Ziva patted Abigail on the shoulder. "Never mind. I will drive us back to NCIS, hm?"

Quickly, McGee walked over and plucked the keys from Ziva's hand. "Hell, no—even after all these years, you _still_ drive crazy."

Abigail stole the keys in turn. "Forget that Ziva drives like someone in a Fast And Furious movie, but _you_ drive _under_ the speed limit, like an old man."

"Hey—"

 _"_ _I_ am driving because I want to live, and because I would like to arrive at a reasonable time!"

That was that, and McGee and Ziva followed Abigail away, like puppies following their mother.

* * *

While McGee went about making Amber Alerts for Tallulah and Lucille, and Ziva made a call about a BOLO for the van the girls had been taken in, Abigail made her way down to Abby's lab, a Caff-Pow in hand.

As always, Abby was blasting music, but Abigail was pleasantly surprised to see that she recognized the tune. It was called Ever After.

 _Don't you move_

 _Can't you stay where you are, just for now?_

 _I could be your perfect disaster_

 _You could be my ever after_

 _You could be my ever after, after all…_

Abigail found herself realizing that she wouldn't mind being Abby's own personal ever after.

"Abby!" she called out as she entered.

The goth saw her snd jumped in surprise. She even turned off the music.

"Abigail, what are you doing _here?_ Tony, Ziva, and McGee all asked questions or made 'suggestions' about me getting some last night because I turned up with a thermos of Bloody Mary!"

She glanced over at the thermos, open on her main desk. Then she looked back at Abigail, grinning nervously.

"It was really delicious, though."

"Well, good." Abigail handed the other woman her new drink. "Have more presents from me."

Thanking her, Abby took the Caff-Pow and the flash drive, and then watched as Abigail set the piece of tech into the USB port on the main computer and call up the stored data. Normally, Abby got nervous when other people (even McGee) handled her tech, but Abigail did it with such efficiency and speed that she only had time to be impressed.

"What are you looking at?" Abby asked her, pointing to the screen.

She looked at her in surprise. "Didn't Gibbs tell you where the team went?"

"No."

"He probably didn't want you to worry yourself into hair loss—we have two missing sisters, and they have special needs."

Abby thought of her mother, back home. "What kind of special needs?"

"Tallulah and Lucille are autistic, and they're both hard of hearing without their hearing aids."

"Oh, boy." Abby looked at the screen. "This looks like the Millennium Crossings Mall."

"It is. The girls were taken from the arcade, and they were last caught on camera being taken through a side door and being put into a van."

"Those poor babies!"

They watched the footage, and at the end, Abby was understandably upset.

"Talk to me, Abby."

She tore her eyes away from the screen to look at Abigail. "We're going to find those precious babies, but right now, but I just wish I could cuddle with Darwin, Bowser, Scooby, and Ruby."

She also wanted to cuddle with Abigail, but she daren't say it aloud. Not at work, anyway.

Abigail gave Abby a pat on the shoulder. "They wouldn't mind it, either, especially since they were all following you by the time we left."

Abby just nodded and forced herself to get back to the matter at hand.

"What makes this NCIS jurisdiction?"

"You're going to want to hold onto your hat for this one." (Abby mimicked putting on a helmet and buckling it in place) "Tallulah and Lucille are being raised by their sister, Junior Field Agent Grace Morgan, and her husband, Petty Officer First Class Noah Morgan. She's from NCIS, and works in the mail room. Her husband is from across the yard, at CGIS."

"Wow. Do you know where the girls' parents are?"

"Their mother passed away from cancer last year, and their dad is in Osaka, Japan. He couldn't cope, and he asked Grace and Noah to take them six months ago."

"So those kids have been through a lot."

Abigail nodded. "There's more."

Abby grew bewildered. "What else is left?"

"The Morgans are young parents, maybe twenty-three or twenty-four, at the most. Also, Grace is nine months pregnant, and the baby seemed to be kicking her a lot while we were talking to her."

Abby blew out an audible breath. "I hope my kid doesn't do that to me."

"Pardon?!" Abigail cried, more startled than she'd meant to sound.

"I'm not pregnant." Abby said quickly. "Maybe in the next year or two, while I have the funds to make it happen, but not now."

"And you wouldn't have gotten into a drinking contest with Ziva…"

Abigail's voice trailed off, just for a second, as she imagined a pregnant Abby Sciuto.

"Oi! Earth to Abigail!"

She jumped when she realized Abby was waving her hands in front of her.

"What?" Abigail said sheepishly.

"Were you imagining me pregnant?"

"I'd be lying if I said no."

Abby smirked. "Good to know your imagination is _that_ creative..."

There was a beat of silence, and then Abigail gave a pointed cough.

"Missing kids."

"Right." Abby rearranged her attention back to the van in the footage, backed it up a few frames, and then paused. "This is about where the license plate should be."

All Abigail saw was pixels, but she took the goth's word for it.

"Are you going to work on unscrambling it?"

Abby nodded. "Yes, but it's going to take awhile."

"Alright—I'm going to go make tracks, but will you call me when something happens?"

"Of course, but Gibbs might even find you first about it, what with his 'evidence ESP' thing." Abby quipped. "Where are you going?"

"To find Ziva: I need her help with something."

* * *

Abigail needed Ziva's help talking to Grace Morgan's friends, Chase and Tessa Fairbanks, and Hank and Jade Conrad. Besides Grace and her husband, the Fairbankses and the Conrads knew Tallulah and Lucille very well because their own daughters were best friends with them.

Luckily, just as Grace had told Ziva, Chase, Tessa, Hank, and Jade, were all at work in the NCIS mail room. Abigail sent for them, and by the time they arrived at the conference room, both couples were feeling very perplexed. But they all sat around the table, nevertheless.

Abigail was ready to talk to the Fairbankses and the Conrads, but she noticed that something was giving Ziva pause.

"What's up, David? Abigail said, hands on her hips.

"I am thinking of Gibbs' first rule."

"Ziva, hear me and hear me well: I would never, _ever_ screw you over."

"That is reassuring, but not _that_ first rule—the other one!"

"Are you saying that there are _two?"_

"Correct, and actually, several of The Rules are shared."

"What the hell?" Abigail muttered before pulling herself together and waving a hand of dismissal. "The first Rule Of Borin is 'always have writing materials.' Now I want to know what the 'other' First Rule Of Gibbs is."

"It is to never let suspects sit together."

Abigail pointed at the closed conference room door. "They're not suspects, and when I called down to speak to their boss in the mail room, he told me that they've all been in the building since nine this morning, and it's twelve thirty-five now. There would have been no time for any of them to sneak away and have off with Grace Morgan's baby sisters."

"I suppose their boss would have noticed if they'd left." Ziva mused. "Four people gone would be an anomaly."

Abigail nodded. "Yes, exactly. Do you think you can keep it together now?"

"Certainly." Ziva opened the door to the conference room. "After you."

Abigail followed Ziva into the conference room, and closed the door behind them. Their guests remained politely puzzled, when they saw their superiors, they all stood immediately, at attention.

"Woah." Abigail said as she and Ziva sat at the head of the table. "At ease!"

Both couples resumed their seats.

"I am Special Agent Ziva David," Ziva said of herself. "Just in case any of you needed to know, although I have seen all four of you around the building before. My partner today is Special Agent Abigail Borin, from across the yard at CGIS."

Chase Fairbanks furrowed a brow. "CGIS, m'am?"

Abigail nodded. "Yes…?"

"Oh." he said quickly when he realized what she was looking for. "I'm a Junior Field Agent. So is Tessa."

"And us!" Hank Conrad added, motioning between him and his wife.

"Okay… then we will just have to not stand on formalities for this meeting," Abigail decided. "Except for 'm'am.' Special Agent David and I will just address all of you by your first names."

"Chase, Tessa, Hank, and Jade, correct?" Ziva asked, motioning to each of them in turn.

Hank nodded. "That's us."

"When was the last time any of you saw Tallulah and Lucille Morgan?"

The agents were each taken aback—this was the last thing any of them had been expecting.

Tessa recovered first. "Personally, I last saw them two days ago."

"What happened then, Tessa?" Ziva asked.

"I was at the market, shopping. The girls were there, with Noah, also shopping. They saw me, and we exchanged our hellos before we all went on our separate ways again."

"And you have not seen them since?"

"No, m'am. We're having my sister's wedding reception at our house on Sunday, and every spare moment has gone in to prepping."

Sensing that his wife was about to go on a tangent, Chase quickly stepped in. "Our families all live on the same street, on base, and our kids are all adore each other. Last _I_ saw Tallulah and Lucille, they were playing in our front yard with our daughters, Kendra and Violet."

Ziva nodded, taking the information in stride while Abigail took fastidious notes of the conversation.

"You have not seen them since, either?" she asked.

Chase shook his head. "No. I've been helping Tessa, or keeping track of Kendra."

Jade was the next one to volunteer information, rounding things out. "Hank and I saw them yesterday, during carpool, because Noah had to take Grace to a check-up."

Abigail turned her attention to Hank. "Is this true?"

"Yes." Hank told Abigail. "Please, m'am—what's happening?"

Abigail addressed the Fairbankses and the Conrads at large. "Grace was at Millennium Crossings Mall with Tallulah and Lucille this morning. The girls were abducted."

Jumping the gun before anyone else could react, Hank Conrad blurted, "And you think one of _us_ did it?"

Jade patted her husband's arm and spoke gently to him. "No, Hank. They just have to ask these things, and we all just alibied out."

"We did." He grew calm and made a hasty apology to Abigail. "Sorry, m'am."

"Don't worry about it, Hank." she said sincerely before looking to Jade, curious. "Are you studying law?"

"I've been studying about JAG. I might transfer in a few years."

Tessa spoke up. "Special Agent Borin, right?"

The redhead bobbed her head. "Yes."

"Did you talk to Grace today?"

"I did."

"Have you figured out by now that her sisters are special?"

"Yes, we did, Tessa. Grace told us all about that, and that Kendra and Violet are the girls' best friends."

"The girls know that Tallulah and Lucille are different, m'am, but they love them just the same and even stick up for them at school." Tessa confirmed. "Kendra and Violet were so surprised the other week to learn that Tallulah and Lucille had never had a sleepover before that they begged to have one at our house to show the girls what it was like. They had a ball, and even made matching friendship bracelets."

"That's precious." Abigail said softly.

Chase chimed in, "Tallulah and Lucille sign when they're nervous, m'am, and the week after they moved in, Kendra told Tessa and I that she and Violet were going to join the ASL club at school so they could learn how to use it."

"So they could communicate with Tallulah and Lucille." Ziva mused. "That is also really special."

"When did you all meet the Morgans?"

"We met Grace in high school, when she was the new kid, and then we met Noah when we were eighteen, and all in boot camp, at Lake Michigan. The six of us have been a unit ever since, m'am."

Across the table, Jade groaned and rubbed her temples. "Violet and Kendra have known each other their entire lives because I've known Hank my whole life, m'am. Tessa is his cousin. We're all the same age, and we met Chase when we were six. Violet and Kendra love Tallulah and Lucille that way, and they're going to be so heartbroken when they find out about what's happened."

Tessa spoke again. "Special Agent Borin?"

"Yes?" Abigail responded.

"How is Grace? She's due with Katharine at any time."

"She had a contraction while still at the mall."

"Oh, my God!" Tessa stood, alarmed. "Look, do you two need us for anything more? We have to pick up our children, and find Grace and Noah."

Chase, Jade, and Hank stood, too. So did Abigail and Ziva.

"We don't need you anymore, no." Abigail said, watching Ziva cross room and open the door. "Thank you for coming up here."

Ziva motioned for the group to follow her. "This way, please. I will bring you back to the mail room."

Thanking her, the Fairbankses and the Conrads followed Ziva out.

Abigail just crossed the room and stared out of the window. It look out into the courtyard between the buildings, but she was just staring into space at nothing in particular.

All she could picture was cuddling in bed with Abby, just forgetting about the world for awhile.

She sighed loudly. "This is going to be a long day."


	4. Four

**Quick reminder of what's happened: the team + CGIS are investigating the disappearance of two little girls (Tallulah and Lucille) who have been taken from the local shopping mall. We don't know why it's happened yet, although we do know that one parent is NCIS, and the other is CGIS, so our favorite CGIS redhead is working with our naval friends. She and Ziva have also just finished interviewing friends of the parents of the missing children, to see if they knew anything. After that, Abigail went down to Abby's lab to see if she'd made any headway on cleaning up footage of the girls' abduction.**

 **This picks up from there.**

* * *

It wasn't until after Gibbs, Tony, and McGee returned from the crime scene at Millennium Crossings Mall that Abby got a breakthrough in the case. Telling herself that it was better than nothing, she called Gibbs, Abigail, Tony, McGee, and Ziva to the lab.

"What do you got, Abs?" Gibbs and Abigail asked in unison as they all gathered around her main monitor.

"I saw the footage of Tallulah and Lucille being taken from the mall, and being forced out into that van, but the license plate information was very pixelated—until now."

She directed their attention to one of the images that had been blown up, so they could see it better.

"It says '1-Koala-Joker-2-9,' but does anyone see what I see? I'm from New Orleans, and I saw it immediately."

Gibbs, Tony, McGee, and even Ziva picked up on the scientist's observation, so Abigail rolled her eyes.

"Help out the Ohio country girl?"

Tony had mercy on her. "First of all, Borin, the plate here is _yellow,_ with _black_ letters, instead of white with _blue_ letters. This plate also has only five digits, instead of the modern, standard six, and it has two sets of letters in the upper corners, and information about Washington, D.C. being the nation's capital."

"So I see." Abigail replied upon reexamination. "What about it?"

"These kinds of plates were made almost exclusively in 1966. The plates before these—at least in the sixties—all specifically stated the District Of Columbia as the nation's capital."

Abigail arched an eyebrow. "Then what happened in 67?"

"The plates changed formats again, and eventually started looking how they do now."

Gibbs chimed in, "They also started carrying registration tags in 67, and by 75, they had the 'taxation without representation' slogan, too. Use your powers of deduction, Borin, and think about these clues for a minute."

She had an epiphany. "These plates are so old that they were probably bought from a collector, or something, because the chances of an actual car from 1966 being on the road are slim to none."

"Bingo." Gibbs turned back to Abby. "Anything else you want to tell u—"

He had been about to ask Abby if there was anything else that she could tell them about the license plate, or the van itself, but stopped when he heard the elevator ding out in the hallway. They all knew that Ducky and Palmer were in Autopsy, going about other business, but they were so predictable, meaning that they had no reason to be coming into the lab yet. So who could the newcomer be? Ziva even did a quick headcount of those in the lab to see who was missing.

"Wow—you're _all_ here."

It was Director Vance. After all these years, he could Gibbs better than he wanted to, so he hadn't bothered to look in the bullpen before heading down to Abby's lab. What he hadn't been banking on was Abigail, Tony, McGee, and Ziva all being there, too.

"Did you need something, director?" Abigail asked.

"Right." Vance cleared his throat, and then spotted the image that the other six were looking at. "Miss Sciuto, could you zoom out, please?"

"Okay."

Abby did as asked, and they all watched as Vance examined the van, practically brooding. They all watched him for a minute before Abigail gave a pointed cough.

"Leon, what?"

He turned to look at them all. "I just got a call that this particular vehicle was in the the area of _another_ abduction."

Abigail blanched. "Oh, my God. Is anything known yet?"

"Another child has been taken, and like I said, this van was nearby. The child in question this time is named Natalia Ludlow. She was taken from a class field trip."

"Where was it?" Gibbs asked.

"The arcade."

At Gibbs' right side, Tony was immediately fighting back the desire to make a crack about the movie _War Games_ because it had popped into his head. On balance, he decided it would be best to act mature, lest Gibbs (or Borin) whack him for saying anything close to juvenile.

"How old is Natalia Ludlow? Tallulah and Lucille are already twelve and ten."

Vance consulted a notepad he had marked up with notes. "According to what I wrote, she's eight years old."

"Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia must all be so scared and confused." Abby murmured.

"I have no doubt that they are, Miss Sciuto." Vance agreed.

Ziva held her hands in the 'time-out' position. "I appreciate the complicated severity of the situation, but what, other than this mysterious van, makes this an NCIS matter?"

Abigail elbowed her way into the conversation again, turning to Vance. "Did you say that Natalia's last name is Ludlow?"

"They're both agents at CGIS now, but not to long ago, Natalia's mother used to be one us." Vance reported after a quick look at his notes again. "Professionally, though, she and her husband are known as Special Agents—"

"Cain Ludlow, and Emily Turner." Abigail finished.

Gibbs also got back into the conversation. "Who wants to be an actual grown-up, and fill in the blanks?"

"Ludlow and Turner are analysts that work in the CGIS bullpen; their desks are on the other side of where my team sits. I, uh, met Natalia once, when her parents and I stayed after hours to burn the midnight oil on a case."

"What happened?" McGee asked curiously.

"Natalia wandered over to my desk, and I entertained her with magic tricks."

Tony blurted, "You do magic, Borin?"

"I do."

Deftly, she reached into Abby's pocket and pulled out a quarter—she always carried quarters to pay for a drink from the Caff-Pow machine. After Abby immediately sidestepped her in surprise, the redhead held her palm flat, her borrowed coin in the center. Before their eyes, Abigail snapped her fingers, and the coin vanished.

She turned to Ziva and pointed at her jacket.

"Check your left pocket." Abigail told her friend.

Ziva did, and to her astonishment, she extracted the quarter.

"Impressive, Abigail." she complimented before tossing the coin back to Abby.

Meanwhile, Gibbs was impressed against his will. Back when Shannon and Kelly had still been alive, he had been gifted in the sleight of hand, just like Abigail appeared to be. For Kelly's benefit, Shannon had always pretended not to know how the tricks worked, even though they were the same ones Gibbs had shown her when they began dating. All the while, Kelly had been completely enthralled, never once questioning the magic.

Those were some of Gibbs' best memories of his family.

Still, he had to keep his current family grounded.

"We have _three_ missing kids now, and the newest is quite a bit younger than the original two!" he barked. "God forbid this whacko strikes again, and takes a _toddler_ or a _baby!"_

While Vance was unfazed, Abigail, Abby, Ziva, Tony, and McGee each nearly jumped out of their skins at his harsh tone. But he was right, so they all sobered up and got their heads back in the game.

Vance changed the tide of the conversation, however, by once more speaking to the lone scientist in the room.

"Miss Sciuto, I know you're unaccustomed to going into the field, but we're going to need you on this one."

Abby was taken aback, but she did her best to not let it show. "Alright. I'll get my portable equipment, but…"

"Why are you needed in the field?"

"Precisely, sir."

"There's an issue with the security footage at the arcade, as in the abductors or someone _tampered_ with it, on _purpose._ We need someone with your technological knowhow to rectify things."

"I understand."

"Very good. Can you be ready in ten minutes or less?"

"I can."

And she bowed herself out of the conversation, getting her things ready. McGee joined her, to help.

Vance, Gibbs, Abigail, Tony, and Ziva stood in the doorway for a new powwow. This time, the director spoke to Abigail.

"If you're wondering how I know everything that I've just told you just now, Special Agent Borin, let's just say that I have eyes everywhere."

"Sounds about right."

"To that end, I've taken the liberty of directing your team over to the arcade, to help the LEOs out."

"Thank you. I'll be in touch with my people soon." Abigail said. "What are you going to do, director?"

"Go back to my office to hold the fort down, and turn things back to you and Special Agent Gibbs." he looked around at them all. "Now if you'll pardon me, everyone, I'll be on my way."

They made a path amongst themselves for him, and no sooner had the elevator door shut behind Vance than Abby came hurrying over, dressed for going out. She even had her trusty lace umbrella over a shoulder. McGee was right behind her, and gentleman that he was, he was carrying all of his friend's portable equipment in their various bags or carriers.

Abby looked around at her friends. "I'm ready to go! Whose car am I riding in?"

* * *

As there was no dead body, Ducky and Palmer stayed behind, but Tony drove the MCRT van, with Ziva riding shotgun, and McGee in the equipment bay. That left Abby and Abigail with Gibbs. He drove, while both women sat in the backseat.

Abigail had calls to make, and promptly claimed that the 'loudness' of Gibbs' thinking would distract her. On the other hand, Abby was just feeling sick: three kids—two of whom had special needs—were missing, and the lack of concrete leads was tantamount to distressing. The last thing she wanted was to immediately focus on was Gibbs' erratic driving patterns.

Abigail seemed to sense Abby's distress, even while on the phone, so she reached out for her hand. Abby took it and immediately felt calmer, even going so far as to start daydreaming about being back at Abigail's place with her and her menagerie of pets. She even thought about kissing Abigail, turning to putty when the subject of her daydreams intertwined their fingers began deliberately stroking hers with her thumb. Clearly, Abigail had the same thoughts on the brain.

Up front, from the rear view mirror, Gibbs noticed this exchange of affection.

He pretended not to notice.

But he was happy, because he had been rooting for Abby and Abigail for a long time.


	5. Five

**I'm glad that so many of you are so emotionally invested in the kids, but seriously—hold your horses, people! I promise we'll get there in due time ;)**

* * *

In what felt like no time, all parties had arrived at the arcade. While Gibbs waded his way through various reporters to get to the MCRT van so he could catch up with Tony, McGee, and Ziva, Abigail was helping Abby get all of her gear out of the car they had ridden in. The scientist had packed a lot.

"Did you really not recognize the old license plates?" Abby asked suddenly.

"Hm?" Abigail said distractedly; she'd already been thinking about how to ask Abby to come home with her when the case was done. "What was that?"

"The old plates we were looking at in the lab. You didn't recognize the old formats."

The redhead sighed. "Oh, that. I'm from a place in Ohio called Charm—yes, really—and _nothing_ ever happens there, except farming."

"Woah, really? My parents own a business on Canal Street in The Big Easy."

"Then we'll have to go down there some time so you can show me." Abigail said before sighing again. _"My_ parents are farmers, but more to the point: there are schools in and near Charm, but I didn't want to live and die there, or be a farmer, so I took matters into my own hands for high school."

"How's that?"

"I went to a boarding school in Dayton—it was almost three hours away, but more importantly, one hundred and sixty-five miles between me, my parents, my siblings, and Southwood Farm. After graduation, I joined the Marines as soon as I could, and promptly did a tour of duty in Iraq… but after I lost my fiancé there, I quit for good."

Upon hearing that Abigail had been engaged once, Abby's heart flip-flopped.

Abigail just carried on.

"When I first joined CGIS, I was living in Maryland—in the heart of Gaithersburg—and then I didn't even move to Collingwood Row until four years ago. Until then, I commuted every day, on the train."

"But when you moved here, it was nose to the grindstone, and becoming a pet mama after that?" Abby guessed. "No time to learn about obscure local history?"

"I already had my bearded dragon, but yes to the rest of that, I'm ashamed to say."

"That's it—you're _definitely_ coming with me for Christmas; New Orleans has the _best_ local history!"

"Okay, I'll come," Abigail agreed, mostly because it meant not being alone _and_ avoiding Ohio. "But this is October—"

"Hey!" barked a sharp voice. "Abbsez!"

Both women jumped at Gibbs, interrupting their conversation. He was looking at them in exasperation.

"Are you two coming, or what?" he demanded.

Both Abigails picked up the pace, picked the luggage up, and hurried over to him.

* * *

Abby felt her heart jumping every which way when they finally made it inside the arcade.

In addition to Natalia's class field trip, and light weekday foot traffic, a birthday party had been happening, too. Now all that remained of that was a cluster of confused, crying four-year-olds being watched over by their parents.

Not far from them were Natalia Ludlow's classmates and their chaperones. Her teacher, and two nervous wrecks of people whom Abby could only assume were Natalia's parents from CGIS were nearby, each trying to keep it together as they talked with the arcade manager, the employees, and the local law enforcement officers.

The few adult guests that had come to the arcade that morning were standing together, off to the side, unsure of what to do or whom they should be talking to.

Needless to say, the atmosphere in the arcade was very tense.

Abby was escorted to the security room after participating in a briefing, and when she was gone, Gibbs and Abigail delegated tasks to their team members before going to talk to Natalia's parents.

That didn't last long because Natalia's mother collapsed from the stress and the despair—they had no other children. Emily Ludlow even hit her head as she fell. When she was taken away in an ambulance, Tony and McGee tagged along, in hopes that they could talk to the Ludlows again after things had been settled.

This left Ziva on her own, and also doing her best to avoid Abigail's new CGIS team. They were greenhorns, almost to the point of annoying. Her time was better spent letting them learn on their own—this was how she had learned and honed most of her NCIS-related skills.

In avoiding them, Ziva walked a perimeter of the main room. She had just made it to the open seating area, when she stopped as a certain sound reached her ears. Turning, she saw a woman sit heavily on one of the chairs in the party area, sobbing.

Without a second thought, Ziva hurried over to check on her, but her heart jumped into her throat when she recognized who this was.

 _"_ _Hollis?!"_

True enough, the crying woman was none other than NCIS' former Army liaison, Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann. They hadn't seen in her in about three years—mostly because was retired—and she was dressed more casually than Ziva could recall seeing her before.

In turn, Hollis was equally surprised to see Ziva.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in bewilderment as she wiped her tears away.

Ziva knelt in front of her. "We are responding to a case—"

"With vanishing children."

"Yes, but how did you know?"

"Because I know who's behind it, and I can't find my boy—"

Ziva was thrown by this last part, but she was then thrown even more when Hollis began having a panic attack.

So Ziva turned and called over her shoulder.

"GIBBS, ABIGAIL! COME QUICKLY!

They came running, and Gibbs immediately sat with Hollis, comforting her and getting her breathing back on track. Abigail trusted that Gibbs could take care of her, so she pulled Ziva to the side, away from the former couple.

"Who is this?" she asked, motioning towards them.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann, Army retired. We have not seen her in quite some time, and she used to be NCIS' liaison with the army." Ziva explained in an undertone. "Our paths would cross on a case from time to time, like yours does with us now."

Abigail cast the pair a second look. This time, Hollis had come down from her panic attack, and Gibbs was holding her as she began to weep. That being said, Gibbs was also holding and comforting Hollis the way that a lover would.

Ziva noticed exactly what Abigail was observing. "Leroy and Hollis used to date. Back then, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, Tony, Tim, even Jenny, and I were all so sure that they were going to marry that we jokingly referred to Hollis as Gibbs' fourth ex-wife."

"Oh, boy." Abigail forced herself to look back at Ziva. "When was the last time you all saw her?"

"Approximately three years ago."

"And she would only be weeping the way she is if she had a child."

"Hollis does." confirmed Ziva. "She said that she has a boy, and that she cannot find him."

"Then you can talk to her get details for an Amber Alert." Abigail decided. "Has she told you how old her son is?"

"No, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say that he is three, or nearly there. They would have come here because there is a play room for little ones, too."

"Ziva, do you think the boy is…"

Abigail couldn't bring herself to finish her thought, so Ziva did for her.

"Are you asking if I think the boy is Gibbs'?"

"Yes."

"I do not." Ziva said with a sincere finality.

"You came to _that_ conclusion awfully fast."

Ziva spoke even firmer. "Hollis has always loved Leroy too much to keep from him that he would have a son; the boy's father is elsewhere."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes. Neither of them will say it, but their hearts have always been intertwined, just as mine is with Tony's and yours is with Abby's." the younger woman gave her friend a kind look. "For the record, I think that you and Abby are good for each other, and I really hope that more good comes of it."

Ziva gave Abigail's hand a gentle squeeze, and then walked back towards Gibbs and Hollis.

It was a moment before Abigail followed her, but only because it suddenly dawned on her that Ziva had figured out on her own that she was romantically interested in Abby. She also approved of it.

Well, that's that, Abigail decided. I'm one hundred percent in love with Abigail Ramona Sciuto!

* * *

Back in the security room, Abby was feeling frustrated. They knew for sure that whomever it was that on the loose, taking these children, was working in a pair, but the newest development was particularly vexing: at least one half of the duo was _very_ tech-savvy. Vance had said that the security cameras had been purposefully tampered with, but it was more like someone had run something that was a cross between a magnetic strip and a scrambler through the system. It left behind such a mess that Abby was beginning to get stumped about how to fix the problem at all.

She knew that there was a solution, but she just wasn't seeing it.

And though she'd chased down her hangover with Abigail's Bloody Mary earlier, she was feeling sick, yet. She blamed it on her nerves and a few life choices that she'd been wrestling with lately.

Maybe a quick walk would help.

"Miss Sciuto, where are you going?"

The security guard in the room keeping Abby company had seen her stand in stretch. He stood, too.

"I'm just going to clear my head."

"Not feeling too hot?"

"Uh-uh." Abby said honestly. "I'm just going to step into the hallway for a minute."

The guard approved, and Abby did as she said and when she was just out of sight of the security room, she leaned against a wall.

Her head was positively swimming.

Abby was a sensitive person by nature, and would readily admit that she was the kind of person who was often governed by her own emotions when it came to her work. So it came to no surprise, that even though she was focusing on this case as hard as she could, her feelings were taking over, once more.

There were _three_ missing children, after all.

Abby was also becoming weighed down by another secret: she _really_ wanted to be a mother, and had every intention of becoming one. Thanks to a very generous healthcare plan from NCIS, all of her ducks were in a row, and it was now just a matter of getting the ball rolling.

Abby just wasn't sure who to tell all of this to.

Just as quickly, though, she found herself thinking that telling this to her new redheaded sweetheart would be the best option.

But was it because she had finally admitted to herself that she was in love with Abigail before even leaving her house a few hours ago?

Probably.

Abby's train of thought went off the rail when she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. A little boy, dressed nicely, but totally in tears, had rounded the corner. He stopped when he saw her, but kept crying as he scrambled to figure out if this was a person he could trust.

"Hey, little man." Abby crouched in front of him and pulled from her dress pocket her NCIS ID, showing him the shield on the front. "I'm Abby, and I work with NCIS. Do you know what that is?"

He nodded, and even turned his tears down a few levels, drawing closer to put a hand on his new acquaintance's shoulder.

"Abby?" he tried.

She nodded. "Yes! What's your name?"

The little boy pointed to himself. "Cooper."

"Okay, Cooper. Are you lost?"

"Yeah." Cooper's bottom lip trembled, like he was going to cry.

"You don't know where your mommy is, huh?" Abby guessed.

"No…"

Big, fat puppy dog tears began to fall down Cooper's face all over again, so Abby put her ID back in her pocket and gave Cooper her best smile.

"How old are you, buddy?"

He held up four fingers. "Three."

"Three is an _extra_ special time when you get to have fun all day long, _and_ cuddle with your mommy."

Abby reached out and smoothed back her little friend's curly, sandy brown hair out of his face. When she saw his beautiful blue eyes, Abby smiled even more at him, and began to wipe his tears for him. This calmed Cooper, and he returned the affection by giving Abby a small smile of his own.

"Cuddles are good." Cooper told Abby.

"Yes, they are." she agreed. "Would you like to go find your mommy so you can give her cuddles? I bet she misses you."

"I miss her." he leaned into Abby, putting his arms around her neck. "You'll take me?"

"You bet I will." Abby stood and scooped him up, arranging him so she could carry him with ease. "Let's—oh, no…"

She had turned around, with every intention of going to find Gibbs and Abigail… only to find herself suddenly staring down the barrel of a gun.


	6. Six

All Abby could see of the man pointing the gun at herself and Cooper was the maniacal glint in his eye; she was too frightened to really take in anything else about him. What truly startled Abby was that she'd never seen him before, but he was eyeing Cooper the way a predator looked at its prey. Instinctively, Abby held the boy closer.

"Who are you?" she asked the newcomer, doing her best to keep her voice from wavering.

"That isn't important." the man snarled. "What _is_ is that you have Cooper."

"What do you want with him? He's just a little guy!"

The man seemed impatient. "It doesn't matter—I was just sent to get him."

"Over my dead body."

"Now _that_ would just be _too_ messy." A lightbulb went off over his head, and his grin grew even more evil. "I might get a bonus for turning you in, too…"

"Like hell I'm going anywhere with a stranger!"

"Very well—give the boy to me!"

"No!"

At that, the man pointed his gun at Abby's left knee. He seemed to seriously be considering shooting her, but if he did, then the fun would be over too quickly.

So would it be worth it?

No. Not now.

Maybe later.

"Empty your pockets." he said finally. "Go on."

Relieved that he hadn't fired his gun, Abby emptied her pockets of her ID badge and her phone, setting them on the floor. For good measure, she also removed a hat that Cooper was wearing, and set it beside her things. This would at least let the others know that he was with her, when they realized something was wrong. Until then, she would protect Cooper.

"What now?" Abby asked her kidnapper. "You gonna shoot me?"

The man shook his head, and pointed in the direction of the hallway she'd just come from. "I won't do that because you could actually be valuable. We just have a pit stop to make first—and don't you think about escaping."

But that was the last thing that Abby had on her mind.

All she was for at the moment was for Gibbs and Abigail to figure things out soon.

* * *

Back in the main room, Gibbs was yet with Hollis. She had stopped crying somewhat, and Gibbs was talking to her.

"Hols," he said. "I don't mean anything about it, but it's about Cooper…"

She sighed. "You were doing the math on him?"

"Uh-huh."

"He isn't yours, Leroy, because I had him IVF. Believe me—if he was yours, I would have to told you immediately."

"I believe it." Gibbs gave her a small smile. "Thanks for being honest."

"Of course."

Hollis blew out a heavy breath, wanting to stave off any more tears or panic for the time being. She always felt safe when Gibbs was near, which was another reason why she hadn't broken down again already; she trusted him with her life and her sanity. But it still took a moment before she could gather herself.

"I can't find my son. Who do I talk to about an Amber Alert?"

"Ziva."

"Okay, but there's another thing."

"Yes?" Gibbs inquired.

"I told Ziva that I know who is doing this."

Gibbs grew taken aback. _"Really?"_

Hollis nodded. "Yes. When do we talk about _that?"_

"Back at NCIS." Gibbs rose and pulled Hollis to her feet. "Right now, you need to talk to Ziva."

He flagged his underling down, and after seeing her and Hollis off together, he crossed the room to where Abigail was standing alone. She was visibly shivering.

"What's the matter with you?" Gibbs asked her.

"I'm not sure." the redhead looked around the room, and then at her companion. "Do you have a rule about listening to your gut, or trusting it?"

"Yes, and I'm guessing that you have your own version?"

Abigail bibbed her head. "Rule Of Borin number four: always listen to your instinct."

"What's yours telling you?"

"That I see your old flame talking to Ziva, and I know where Tony and McGee went. Plus, you're standing right in front of me."

"Tick tock, Borin."

"I feel compelled to check on Abby." she finished swiftly. "Where did she go, again?"

"To the security area."

Gibbs headed towards a door marked 'AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY,' and then looked back to see if Abigail had followed him yet. She hadn't, but only because she was thinking, just for a moment, of being back home when this was all over, and cuddling with Abby, and all of the animals.

"Are you coming, or what?" Gibbs called.

Abigail made tracks quickly.

They emerged in the back hallways of the arcade, and it didn't take them all that long to find the security office.

However, they encountered a scene that they weren't expecting: the security guard Abby had been working with looked like he was just coming to from being knocked out. The arcade manager was even helping him hold an icepack to the side of his head—he'd been clocked with a weapon of some sort.

Before Gibbs could pounce in irritation, Abigail intervened.

"What happened here?" she asked after introducing herself.

"Miss Sciuto told me that she wasn't feeling well, so she went to the hallway to clear head." the guard told her. "She was gone for a little more than five minutes before some guy showed up and hit me with a gun."

"Did he do this?"

Abigail pointed to the monitors, all of which were showing nothing but static snow.

"I can't say for sure, m'am, but probably."

Abigail held back a sigh. "Then I suppose you wouldn't know where they went, or if they had a little boy in their company?"

The guard shook his head. "No, m'am."

"Alright. Could you point us to the nearest outside exit, please?"

"Out this hall, and to the right."

"Thank you. Take it easy." she handed him her business card. "Give me a call if you remember anything."

After she and Gibbs and Abigail followed the guard's directions, they found themselves in the hallway that their people had been taken out of. While Gibbs examined the actual exit door, Abigail took stock of her surroundings.

Then she saw a new sight, and this time it stopped her in her tracks.

"Gibbs, come here!" she said urgently.

He jogged over. "What? Oh, boy…"

"What exactly are we looking at?"

Gibbs pointed to each item on the ground in turn. "Those are Abby's phone and her ID badge, and a hat that must belong to Cooper."

All at once, Abigail was filled with fear for them… and her body was reacting. As if on autopilot, she strolled over to the nearest garbage can and vomited into it.

Gibbs was understandably upset by the new developments in the case because he loved Abby like a daughter, and because Cooper was the son of the woman he'd once imagined himself having a happy ending with, but the presence of Abigail Irene Borin threw some kind of wrench into the equation. She was a mystery to him in many ways yet, but one thing Gibbs had always known about her was that while in the field, she didn't let her feelings get the best of her. She had always been solid, like a rock.

So seeing Abigail upchuck her breakfast with no warning gave him quite a turn, but of good friendship, he helped her through it. Gibbs also helped her to the first bathroom they found and waited patiently for her to clean herself up. Upon emerging, Abigail appeared presentable again, although she looked a little pale.

"You're in love with Abby, aren't you?" Gibbs asked gently. "You wouldn't have reacted like you did just now if you didn't have deep feelings for her."

Abigail shuffled her feet, nervous. "I _am_ in love with Abby, and I only just let myself admit it since arriving at the arcade... meaning that I haven't gotten the chance to tell her yet."

"You're good for her, Abigail, and she's good for you. Abby may not have seen combat like you and I have, but she _is_ really tough. We're going to find her, Cooper, and the rest of those kids."

"We are." Abigail echoed. "Plus, she'll protect them without a second thought, because that's just who she is."

"Exactly, and if the day comes, any kid she'd have would be lucky enough to call her their mother because she'd be fantastic at it. Nobody is going to hurt Cooper or the others, as long as Abby is around."

"Because she will fight them, tooth and nail."

"Right again. Do you can put your Special Agent face back on?"

"Yes. Time to talk to Cooper's mother?"

"Mhm, and be prepared."

Abigail assumed her best poker face. "I'm ready—and thank you, Gibbs."

He just nodded, already thinking about the conversation they were about to have with Hollis. This was one part of the job he really didn't like.

They found Hollis just wrapping up a conversation with Ziva. When they saw their friends on the approach, they both stood, although Hollis immediately took a step back.

"What is it?" she asked in trepidation.

"Holly," Gibbs began. "Abby came here with us, from HQ, and she was working to review the security footage on the screens in the security office."

"But…?"

"Someone's made off with her."

"Oh, my God!" Hollis cried, as beside her, Ziva openly stared in surprise at this news.

"We don't have all the details yet, but whoever took her knocked out the security guard. We also found some of Abby's things in the hallway, along with a child-sized hat."

Hollis took another step in retreat and reached for Ziva's hand. Already worried about Abby, the younger woman let her hold it.

"Cooper had a knit green toque on when we left the house, and it has a big blue letter C on it. I made it for him."

Abigail schooled herself to the best of her ability: Hollis had perfectly described the hat they'd found beside Abby's things. Even without any footage from the security cameras, this meant that Cooper and Abby had been taken together.

"I'm sorry, but that fits the description of the hat we found."

Hollis let out a wail of despair and began to cry all over again.


	7. Seven

It took awhile, but eventually, everyone relocated back to NCIS to talk about what they knew thus far. So as to let Hollis collect herself, Gibbs and Abigail brought her to the first empty conference room they found.

After that, and after Hollis assured them she'd be fine, she headed with Gibbs down in to the squad room for a chat.

Ziva had just finished putting out the Amber alerts about Cooper, Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia, as well as a separate missing persons report. She also put together a folder of pictures of the missing people, just in case Gibbs and Abigail needed it for Hollis. In that time, Tony and McGee had also returned from going to visit Natalia's parents at the hospital.

"What do you got?" Gibbs and Abigail asked the team in unison.

McGee cleared his throat. "We tried talking to Natalia Ludlow's parents, but that turned out to be a no-go."

"And why's that?" demanded Gibbs.

"Because Missus Ludlow was extremely hysterical by the time the ambulance got the hospital, boss. She, uh, had to be sedated."

"What about her husband?"

McGee sighed. "Him, too."

Abigail arched an eyebrow. _"Both_ parents down for the count? Anything special we need to know about their child? I know Natalia is an only child."

At this, Tony shook his head as he gave an answer. "No special needs or anything like that have been reported."

Abigail glanced at her temporary partner. "You want to tell them what else has happened, Gibbs, or should I?"

Hearing this, Tony and McGee sat on the edge of McGee's desk, as it was directly behind them.

"What happened?" Tony asked cautiously.

Gibbs bit the bullet. "Two things happened, the first of which, DiNozzo, is that Abby was abducted from the arcade."

Tony and McGee gaped at him, unsure of how to process this information, let alone what to say.

"The other thing is that our old friend, Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann is back."

"Really?" McGee sputtered. "It's been like, three years!"

"She has a little boy now, named Cooper," (on cue, Ziva called up a collage of the missing people on the main plasma screen) "And they were already at the arcade when Natalia was taken. Unfortunately, Cooper is gone, too."

"Not only that," Abigail added. "But he and Abby were taken together. Hollis even told Ziva that she knows who's behind this."

"We always give every case our all, but for this one," Tony vowed. "We'll work _double_ time."

McGee gave a nod of agreement and then looked around. "Uh, where _is_ the lieutenant colonel, exactly?"

"Upstairs, in one of the conference rooms—we gave her some time to collect herself."

Gibbs worked his way back in to the conversation, addressing all three of his underlings at once. "I want all of you to find Borin and I something new—dig into people's pasts, if you have to, okay? Ziva can fill you in while we go upstairs!"

"On it, boss!" the others responded in unison, Ziva handing the folder of pictures to Abigail as they went.

Confident that they had the situation under control, Gibbs and Abigail headed up to the conference room where they'd left Hollis. It was time to get her complete version of events, and, Abigail realized as she and Gibbs joined Hollis at the long table, the woman before them was the only steady witness they'd encountered so far.

But she put her best foot forward and shook hands with Hollis as she introduced herself.

"I'm Special Agent Abigail Borin, and I'm from across the yard, at CGIS. You must be Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann."

"That's me, but I haven't officially gone by that title in quite some time because I'm retired now." she let go of Abigail's hand. "I'm sorry—did you say from CGIS?"

"Yes, but we're all friends in this room, so you can call me Abigail."

Hollis turned to Gibbs. _"Two_ Abigails?"

"Uh-huh. She comes to visit us every now and again, like you did—she's family, too."

"I see. Any news on my boy, or on Abby?"

"Not at the moment, I'm afraid," Abigail replied. "But it's come to mine and Gibbs' attention that you know who is doing this?"

Hollis nodded. "I d—what is that?"

She'd noticed Abigail's folder.

"It's got pictures of the people we're looking for." the redhead explained.

"May I see it?"

Abigail handed her the folder and watched as Hollis arranged the items before her. "In order, we have Lucille and Tallulah Morgan—they're sisters, and they both have special needs—and then after them is a little girl named Natalia Ludlow. Last, but not least, are Abby and Cooper."

Hollis observed all of the pictures, and then looked curiously at Abigail. "I was with the army for my entire adult life until three years ago, and of course, Cooper is my child, and Abby is from NCIS, but how are the rest of these children tied to the Coast Guard?"

"Natalia's parents, Cain Ludlow, and Emily Turner, both have work spaces adjacent to mine at the other building. It's a little more complex with Lucille and Tallulah."

"Try me, Abigail."

"For starters, the girls were adopted six months ago by their older sister, Grace Morgan. She works here, in the mail room, and her husband, Petty Officer Noah Morgan, is from CGIS."

"With you, so far." Hollis told them. "You're saying that the Morgans are the girls' guardians and caretakers, and that she works here, but he works at the other building?"

"Yes." Abigail nodded. "Grace is also nine months pregnant, and she had a contraction earlier... I wouldn't be surprised if her water broke today."

"But where are—"

Gibbs interrupted, rapping the tabletop with his knuckles. "Focus, Holly! Who do you think it is that's behind all of this?"

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "His name is Peter Mathers, and I _know_ this is his doing. He's an army private, and the day before he deployed, I gave him a warning, because he'd just been released from the brig a week before."

"Why was he there?"

"For starting crazy fights, and _I_ was the one to put him in the brig. I also told him that retired or not, if I found that he'd even _toed_ the line, I would make sure that he was brought back to be _properly_ reprimanded."

"How aggressive was this guy, and how old was he?" Gibbs pressed.

"Mathers was extremely aggressive because he was a total 'problem child,' and he always had authority issues, especially with women. Back then, he was freshly turned eighteen, and had been sent to us from boot camp in South Dakota."

"What in God's name would possess him to go after Cooper, or other innocent kids? Obviously, Cooper wasn't born yet, so this means that Mathers had to have been watching you, and the other parents. With Abby, it was probably a spur of the moment thing."

"Well, before I saw Mathers forcibly removed from my office, he gave me a lot of grief about leaving for a war he didn't even support."

"Then why the hell was he even there?"

"From what I understand, his parents had had it with him, so they turned guardianship over to the boot camp director, who in turn sent him to Fort Bragg."

Gibbs chose his words carefully, remembering how he had also been a 'problem child,' too. "I can't say I feel for the guy because I used to be like him when I was younger, although I didn't devolve into whatever he is now. I signed up for the navy mostly to get away from my hometown, and also because I _wanted_ to serve my country."

"That's also why _I_ chose to serve." Abigail chimed in. "I just didn't last as long as you two did. Hollis, what happened to Mathers, after he left your office?"

"I never saw him again, but I heard through the grapevine that he'd sustained an injury that was bad enough to send him into longterm rehabilitation."

"What happened there?"

"He lost a leg, is what I was told," Hollis recalled. "But when he left, he was aiming all of his anger at me, and was definitely angry enough to cook something up, like a cheesy revenge plot. What I can't figure out is that even if nabbing Abby was a spur of the moment type deal, I can't think of how the other families are involved, because I would have remembered all of these darling children."

"This link is another thing we have to figure out." Abigail replied. "Listen, Hollis, I know you're retired, but…"

She looked to Gibbs—this was his house, after all, so he had the final say. Naturally, he picked the thread right up.

"Do you think you can keep it together enough to help us? Just in-house?"

Hollis wiped her tears away with tissues from a tissue box, but managed a nod. "I can do that, and I don't know if I could be anywhere else right now. I feel safe here."

Abigail realized that the conversation was quickly changing lanes now, and that the other two probably wanted to be alone, so she got up.

"Since that's that, I'm going to go tell the director what's happening before I head back down to the squad room."

Without waiting for a response, she left and closed the door behind her, leaving the two former lovers be.

Gibbs also rose, and closed the small distance between himself and Hollis.

"What do you need?" he asked her.

Hollis got to her own feet. "Will you hold me, Leroy? Just for a minute, please?"

"Of course."

He pulled Hollis close, and hugged her warmly.

Hollis melted into his embrace, feeling warmer and safer than she had since first finding out that her son had vanished. Even if it was just for a brief respite, he made her forget her worries.

As for Gibbs, he was just happy to have Hollis back in his arms, after all these years of missing her.

"We're going to find Cooper and Abby, and Tallulah and Lucille, and Natalia." he murmured gently. "We will, Holly."

"I know." she whispered back. "I've always had faith in your team, and it's never left."

"That's a good place to start."

"I just feel so scared right now, because I've never had anything at stake before. At least Abby will protect the kids."

"Oh, most definitely." Gibbs rubbed Hollis' back. "Are you good, or do you want to stay up here?"

"I want to stay, just for a little bit longer."

And they did.

After a beat, and wondering if he should or not, Gibbs dropped a kiss to Hollis' brow.

In response, Hollis just sighed and rested her head against his chest, so she was listening to Gibbs' heartbeat.

She felt so safe, warm, and wanted in Gibbs' arms, that she forgot her woes once again.

Just for a moment.


	8. Eight

Meanwhile, Abby was trying not to freak out. She had no earthly idea what was happening anymore, other than that she was all of a sudden responsible for four very scared, and very confused children.

After being forced into the van that she'd identified less than an hour before on her screen in the lab, the scientist was relieved to find that Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia were already there, and backed into a corner. For awhile, Abby had been fearing the worst. But they, and Cooper were unhurt. That was what mattered.

They were driven to a warehouse of some kind, but that was as much as Abby could catch—rather than letting them out, the driver left them in the van, locking the doors behind him. He then left, through a door on the far side of the warehouse.

Abby took this time to talk to the kids.

"I'm Abby." she said, pointing to herself. "I'm a friend."

Natalia indicated her own self, and then pointed to Cooper. "I'm Natalia, but who's _that?"_

Abby hugged the little boy as she introduced him. "This is Cooper. He's three."

"You're his mama?"

"I am not, but I _am_ his friend."

"Then where _is_ his mama?" Natalia pressed. "At the arcade?"

"Yes."

The girl's face fell. "I was there on a field trip, but I had to go to the bathroom, so I went by myself because it was almost an emergency. Was I bad?"

"Not at all." Abby reassured her. "You didn't know that something awful was going to happen, did you?"

"No." Natalia said after a quick moment of thinking things through.

"So then it _definitely_ wasn't your fault, Natalia."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure."

Natalia nodded, taking Abby's words in stride, but then her face crumpled. "I just want to be with my parents!"

She began to cry. When Abby beckoned to her, the little girl fled to her side without a second thought.

Tallulah and Lucille remained now. Knowing that they were hard of hearing, Abby went for a soft approach, and simultaneously spoke and signed to them.

"You two are Tallulah, and Lucille, right?" she asked gently.

They both stared in surprise for a moment before Tallulah blurted, "You sign?"

"I do. What do you and your sister prefer?"

"Speaking. But how did you know that _we_ know how to sign?"

Abby answered her, this time without using her hands. "Well, do you know what NCIS is?"

In spite of the situation, Tallulah brightened—her big sister had always told them that anyone from NCIS or CGIS could be trusted. "Yes; I know _where_ it is, too! Is that where you work?"

"It is, and guess what what? My friends are looking for you, for your sister, for Natalia, for Cooper, and for me."

Tallulah spoke in a tone of incredulity. "They are?"

"Yes, and along the way, we found out everyone's names, that you and Lucille sometimes like to use ASL."

"Okay. Miss Abby?"

"Yes?"

 _"_ _You_ found us, and that makes me glad… and maybe not _too_ scared. But…"

Tallulah's words trailed off, as she became caught up in her thoughts.

"What is it?" Abby asked gently.

"Since you found us, does that mean we can go now?"

"I wish it was that easy, Tallulah—I'm not even sure where we are. If we stay put, though, I'm sure that my friends will find us before long."

Tallulah considered these words, even if she didn't like the sound of staying still. "Does that mean that _they'll_ bring us back to the people we belong to?"

"Yes, but we have to stay here until then."

"Okay…"

Abby held an arm out to her. "Would you like a hug, too?"

Tallulah held out, but only for a second, before joining them, too.

Lucille remained now, apparently stubborn.

"Miss Abby," she said seriously. "Do you know that me and Lulah live with our big sister, Grace?"

"I did know that, yes."

Lucille spoke haltingly, trying to keep her tears at bay. "Lulah and I call her Gracie, and she's married to Noah. Gracie is even having a baby."

"That's a really big deal." Abby observed.

"The baby might even come today, actually, Miss Abby."

"That's also a big deal."

Lucille was rubbing her eyes now. "But what if Gracie and Noah forget about me and Lulah, since we aren't there?"

Abby's heart lurched in sympathy. "Lucille, they won't. Your sister and Noah love you, Tallulah, _and_ the baby _so_ much."

"Really?"

"Truly." Abby beckoned to her, too. "Please come here."

Surprising even herself, Abby found herself holding all four of her charges, trying to give them equal amounts of extra hugs and kind words.

Natalia spoke again after a few more moments. "I'm so scared! What if they take us to a _new_ place?"

This thought had crossed Abby's mind, too, but she but on the bravest face that she could. She was the only kind adult in the immediate area at the moment, so the kids were extra dependent on her for affection and security.

"If that does happen, my dear Natalia," Abby decided. "I'll stick with all of you, and keep you safe. That's a promise."

Natalia believed these words, as did Tallulah, Lucille, and Cooper. They were all as pacified as could be for the time being.

The newfound quietness just prompted Abby's thoughts to drift.

Where was the calvary already, and _what_ the hell was happening?

* * *

Back at HQ, Gibbs, Abigail, Hollis, Tony, and McGee had finally made some headway, but they just weren't sure what to do with it.

"I guess it's time for a campfire." Tony said as they gathered around the plasma screen. "Who's going to take the lead on this one?"

Before she could roll her eyes as she always did when Tony suggested this tactic, Ziva's desk phone rang, so she crossed the room to answer it. In her stead, Abigail spoke up.

"What is 'campfire' NCIS-talk for?" she asked.

Hollis answered, recalling an old memory. "Basically, it's taking a brief step back when we have all the pieces, but don't know how to connect them. Tony coined the phrase a long time ago."

"I s—what?"

All eyes, including Hollis', had fallen to Abigail.

Tony tossed the plasma remote to her. "Thanks to your probies beaming and faxing their research over here, you were the one to figure out Mathers' connection to CGIS."

"Okay, fine."

With surprising ease, Abigail navigated the plasma screen with the remote, despite not having used anything like it since her last visit to NCIS. As she spoke, each person's name and service record photo appeared on the monitor.

"So at the moment, we know that Grace Morgan works here, in the mail room, and that her husband has the same job, across the yard at CGIS. Cain Ludlow and his wife, Emily Turner, aren't on my team, because they're data analysts, but their desks are physically close to where I sit." Abigail pressed a button on the remote again, and they were looking at their perpetrator's information. "We also know why Peter Mathers doesn't work well with Hollis, but the research that my people sent over showed why he went after the Ludlows and the Morgans, as well."

She brought up digital copies of different forms, but they appeared so fast that Hollis wasn't sure what she was looking at. What she _was_ sure of, however, was that she was taken aback to see a grim expression on the redhead's face. Gibbs was, too.

"And what's that look for, Borin?" he asked.

"According to all of these, at one point while still with the army, Mathers took a… 'day trip,' for lack of a better word, during a summer program with about two dozen other new recruits. They spent the whole day at the CGIS building."

"When was this?"

In addition to having her digital display, Abigail had physical copies of her notes. She scanned the top summary page, looking for the answer.

"It was the June of his first year."

She then looked to Hollis, expectant.

"Don't look at me like that!" Hollis protested. "I'm not Mathers' _mother,_ nor was I his _foremost_ CO."

"Ah, but even by that admission," McGee pointed out. "You still knew him well enough to punish him for insubordination. I also heard that you said so already during your interview in the conference room."

Hollis promptly shot him one of her old trademark withering stares, but before things could go any further, Ziva returned from taking her phone call.

"That was a doctor, from DC General, on behalf of Grace Morgan." she reported. "Grace was just admitted because she was in active labor this whole entire time, but did not realize it. Her daughter will more than likely be born today."

Abigail wrinkled the bridge of her nose, ever so slightly. "The birth of a baby is definitely something to look forward to, and something to be happy about, but until then, this makes both my agency and this one extra responsible for Tallulah and Lucille."

"Indeed, we are." Ziva said in agreement and then tapped an ear before gesturing to Hollis. "I heard everything said over here while I was on the phone. I believe the floor was yours, yes?"

"Yes." Hollis redirected their attention back to the screen. "All of these forms here show that Mathers interacted with both of the Ludlows, and Noah Morgan, for different shadowing workshops."

"Like to see where he wanted to go after the army training?" McGee guessed.

"Bingo."

Gibbs chimed in, "Let me guess—they all gave him low marks?"

Hollis nodded, with Abigail providing the elaboration. "There were also a few well-chosen remarks, the most notable of which said he wasn't applying himself at all, and was better suited for life at Fort Bragg… or combat."

"Then Mathers grew so upset by these remarks that he decided to take matters into his own hands, revenge style?"

"Correct."

"But what? He was waylaid for three whole years, because of combat and an injury?"

"That's two for two, Gibbs. At this point, I'm not even sure if he's in it for a ransom... or if that is Mathers' plan, and just hasn't reached that stage."

Gibbs was feeling frustrated, and close to losing his temper. Somehow, though, he kept things in check. "We have all the clues now, don't we? The next thing is figuring out who the hell his accomplices are, and where they could all possibly be!"

Tony made to answer him, but they were all cut off by Ziva's desk phone again. He and the others watched as in record timing, Ziva took the call, jotted some information on a sticky note, double-check that information, thank the caller, hang up, and return to them.

 _"_ _That_ was an anonymous caller visa vie the tip line. He called to say that he spotted a van matching the description of the one I put on the BOLO."

"Ziva," Tony said warily. "That van was stark white."

"True, but there is also a gigantic scratch along the side, as though from a collision. The rear door also has a dent, close to the bumper."

"All true." Abigail confirmed. "I saw those things on the footage in Abby's lab. Ziva, did your source at least give you an approximate location of where the van was reported seen?"

Ziva nodded and glanced at the scrap of paper in her left hand. "That would on the 2700 block of a street called Boatwright. That is by the docks?"

"Yes, but the area has been abandoned since Y2K." Gibbs gathered his things up, and Ziva, Tony, McGee, and Abigail followed suit. "I'll ride with Borin, and the rest of you can follow."

They all agreed to this, and immediately fell into place behind Gibbs, or else beside him.

"Hey, is it me," Tony said suddenly as they all boarded the elevator. "Or does this all feel a little bit too easy?"

"Not everything _has_ to be complicated all the time. Sometimes the answer actually _does_ come easily." Abigail replied. "That's the second Rule Of Borin."

"And it's the only solid lead we have, DiNozzo!" Gibbs gave him a swat on the back of the head. "These are extra special circumstances, and you should never ever look a gift horse in the mouth!"

The elevator doors closed after that.

Realizing she was alone in the MCRT bullpen, Hollis exhaled heavily and headed towards the main staircase.

"Don't mind me." she muttered to herself. "I'll just go deliver a progress report to the director."

* * *

At the warehouse, things had devolved quickly. Melee was the word.

Abby and the kids were still shut in the van, but currently taking refuge behind the furthest seat. They were all more terrified than ever: not even ten minutes prior, there had been a shootout between Mathers and his men.

The event itself was brief, and for a light millisecond, Abby dared to believe that they'd all shot each other. But those thoughts were dashed because they heard a distinct set of footsteps headed towards the van.

Abby had only just made the kids promise to be quiet, when the back door was unlocked and pulled open. They all screamed.

"Who the hell are you?" Abby demanded.

They were looking at Peter Mathers. He was young yet, but looked like he'd seen better days. The sinister look on his face alone made Abby's very skin crawl.

"It doesn't matter what my name is. I just need all five of you to stay in here for a little bit longer."

"But—"

 _SLAM!_

He closed and locked the door again before Abby could finish her sentence.

Almost immediately, Cooper burst into embarrassed tears, telling Abby that he'd had an accident. His tears were all it took for Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia to cry, too—not that anyone in their proper minds could blame them for being scared, stressed, and extremely overtired.

As for Abby, she continued her best to be brave.

And she'd been in peril plenty of times over the years while at NCIS, but this occasion was the first time that her thoughts of being rescued weren't centered on _Gibbs_ being the rescuer.

No… today, she was thinking of someone else.

"Oh, Abigail. Where are you?"


	9. Nine

**This is long, but worth it!**

* * *

The team located the 2700 block of Boatwright Street without too much trouble. Just like Gibbs had said, the area had been abandoned since the year before the new millennium, so thanks to age and weather, all of the buildings were in varying states of disrepair, with notices of 'KEEP OUT,' 'DO NOT ENTER,' or 'CONDEMNED' mounted across the main entrances. The anonymous tipster hadn't been too specific about which warehouse, amongst the multitudes, was housing the van they were looking for, leading Abigail to privately wonder if they were walking into a trap, or not. Everyone was particularly on their guard because it was already twilight.

They crept together in a tight formation behind the buildings, eventually locating the warehouse they'd been looking for at the end of the row closest to the water. There were probably more indicators on the front of the building that would have shown them that this was their target, but a light in the window beside the back door was good enough. It was also the only lit building in the area.

Upon trying the door, they found that it was locked, but Ziva quickly rectified the issue by picking the lock. Abigail was impressed by this, but the thought was dashed from her head in a matter of moments by the smell of the building's interior. In her time with CGIS, she had visited many crime scenes, on beaches or on vessels, but the scent of the warehouse was just unpleasant. It had been a tire warehouse in another lifetime, but even after all these years, smell of old rubber was heavy on the air. It made Abigail want to gag, but she reminded herself that all of her pets had, at different points, blindsided her with equally bad smells. Old rubber was nothing.

As they had entered from the rear, they were first met by the sight of the aftermath of the firefight. Not only had there been one, but there had also been more people involved in the operation than any of them had previously thought.

"What the hell happened here, and _why?"_ Abigail cried, shining the beam of her gun's flashlight in the direction of her friends. "These are Mathers' men, and I count _four_ dead, but _this_ is a _bloodbath!"_

"Spread out!" Gibbs barked. "Nobody lower their guns!"

Their immediate surroundings consisted of a storage room, a kitchenette, and an office. It was in the last room that they discovered recent activity—on a card table was the lamp they'd seen from outside, and spread across the tabletop were different notes and papers bearing plans of the beginnings of a ransom situation, along with files concerning the caretakers of the stolen children. There was nothing concerning Abby, proving the theory that taking her truly had been a spur of the moment decision. And the seat office chair at the desk was spinning in small tight circles, meaning that the last occupant had only just left.

Peter Mathers was nearby. Somewhere.

"Hey!" Ziva called in a carrying whisper. She was back at the pile of dead bodies in the hallway. "There was another survivor! Look!"

Abigail, Gibbs, Tony, and McGee congregated with her, and followed the beam of her flashlight. It was showing a trail of blood that led away from the carnage, towards a door, through which they found the main garage.

The survivor was greatly injured, but had purposefully inserted himself between the van with the stolen people, and Peter Mathers. It was with a jolt that Abigail realized this other man had been Ziva's anonymous tipster, and that he probably _was_ going to die.

All the same, she and the others kept their guns trained on the main perpetrator.

Gibbs addressed him in his best authoritative tone. "Peter Mathers, we know who you are, what you've done, _and_ what you're planning on! Put you gun down, and step away from that man so we can talk!"

Mathers let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Like hell I'm going to come so easily! Who are you guys, anyway? Feds?"

"NCIS and CGIS!"

"Well that's just fine and dandy, isn't it?" he said sarcastically. "Thanks for coming; we don't need any of you!"

Abigail tried her hand at conversation, well remembering Hollis' words about Mathers' feelings about women in authority. "We're not going _anywhere,_ except to bring you to lock-up. Never mind that you've murdered four people and seriously injured a fifth, but you're facing _kidnapping_ charges, too!"

"Because I believe in revenge!"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that the people you've had kidnapped today have opinions that are quite to the contrary of that, especially since most of them are scared children! Now do like Special Agent Gibbs asked—put your gun down, and step away from that man!"

"Why should I? He's just as guilty in all this as I am, and he's probably the one who sold me out!"

"He isn't the one with a trail of bodies behind him, is he? Helping us, and facing you are good things!"

Abigail called over to the second man.

"Is everyone in the van?"

He nodded nervously. "I took the boy, and the woman, but I feel bad about what I did."

"Remorse is also good thing. It means you'll get a lighter sentence."

At this, Gibbs tried appealing to Mathers again. "Why are you doing all this? What do you expect to get out of it?"

Mathers' tone was that of total exasperation. "It's still about revenge against the people who spurned me at Fort Bragg and CGIS, but things have really gotten out of hand because _Otto,_ here, _just won't die!_ Things have just gotten away from me!"

"And they won't go any further. I'm not going to tell you again, Peter—put down your weapon and back away. We can talk about this without things going any further down this road than they are."

Peter Mathers gave Gibbs a mean sneer. "Shows what you know."

He had known from the moment he'd realized the authorities had arrived that this was going to end with jail time. But that wasn't an option here—not for him. Rather than feeling panicked and cornered, he chose to go out causing as much damage as he could.

"See if you can catch me first."

In the blink of an eye, he'd shot Otto before turning the gun on himself. Both men were dead immediately.

It all happened so fast that Abigail, Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and McGee could only gape, each of them knowing that mandatory sessions with shrinks were in the near future.

Abigail came to her senses first and holstered her gun. "Someone help me find something to break the glass on the front passenger door—we'll get Abby and the kids out that way."

"Meaning that we will not be disturbing the bodies before the coroners come." Ziva said, holstering her own weapon. "I will help you. A fire extinguisher or a heavy chair will be best."

Not too far away, they located an old fire extinguisher mounted on a wall beside a back door. It encased in glass, but after breaking the trappings with a small ball peen hammer hanging beside the case on a chain, they removed the fire extinguisher and returned to the van.

"Abby, it's Abigail! If you can hear me, stomp your foot!"

They all paused to listen, and after a moment, there came a muffled thud.

"Good! I need you and the kids to stay back while I break the front windows with a fire extinguisher!"

There was another pause, and then another thud—Abby was conveying her understanding. It took a few tries, but Abigail had soon broken the window glass and unlocked the front passenger door.

"It's okay!" she opened the door. "It's all over now, and you're all okay now!"

Abigail watched as one by one, Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia emerged from the van. Cooper was after Natalia, and Abby brought up the rear.

When she saw her friend, she hugged her tightly. Abigail returned the affection, while wishing desperately that she could kiss Abby. It was with regret that she let her go after a few moments.

"None of us are hurt," Abby told her. "But we're definitely shaken up, and Cooper had an accident."

Right on cue, Cooper leaned into his guardian angel. "Sorry!"

Abby stroked his hair and cooed to him, "You didn't mean to, buddy—that's why it was an accident. Does that make sense?"

He gave her a thumbs up.

"Miss Abby," Tallulah said suddenly. "Who is this?"

Abby smiled at her. "Tallulah, this is my good friend, Abigail."

"Wait—you _both_ have the same name?"

"Yeah! Pretty neat, huh?"

Tallulah nodded and then regarded Abby's companion. "What do we call _you?"_

"Abigail, if you like."

"Okay. Miss Abigail?"

"Yes?" she replied, trying her best to suppress her amusement at the girl's politeness.

"Is it time to go? I'm hungry."

Beside her, Lucille added, "I'm cold!"

"I'm hungry, too!" Natalia chimed in.

Cooper just let out a yawn that was bigger than himself. "Sleepy…"

He actually fell asleep on his feet, but Abby was quick to pick him up before he could topple over.

"Seriously, though." she said to Abigail. "Is it safe to leave? I don't want the kids to see… you-know-what."

Abigail caught her drift. "I'll go check, and I'll be back with some blankets, too."

"Thanks. I'll make sure nobody wanders off."

But nobody did, because they were all just too worn out by the day's events. There was also no protest at being examined by the paramedics, or getting cleaned up and putting on fresh clothes. Everybody just wanted to leave the warehouse, and all of the kids, big and little, were willing to help speed that along.

Without being prompted, Abby and Abigail reunited the kids to their friends and families. It was nice to have a project together.

While Grace Morgan was deep in labor yet at the main hospital, and her husband was at her side, the Fairbankses and the Conrads were in the waiting room. They were extremely relieved to see Tallulah and Lucille, and they promised to look after them and pass the word along that they were back.

Two kids down, two to go.

Natalia's parents had already been declared fit to leave the hospital, too, so they waited for their daughter in the main lobby. They were overjoyed to have her back in their arms again.

Three kids down, one to go.

"Hey," Abby said after they'd left the hospital. "If we brought Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia back to the people they belong to, then how do we still have Cooper?"

"Because we haven't been in the same place as his mother yet."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Duh, Abigail. Where _is_ she?"

"At NCIS." This was their current destination, and Abigail was driving. "She's been there just about all day."

This last part threw Abby for a loop. "What time is it?"

Abigail cast a brief glance at the car clock. "It's nearly six-thirty."

"Huh. I guess that would be right—I just haven't looked at a clock since the arcade…"

Her words tapered off in a yawn, so Abigail took pity on her. "Just relax. We'll be at NCIS before you know it."

* * *

By the time they reached NCIS, Abby still had no idea who Cooper's mother was, but only because her thoughts were filled with warm ideas about the comfort of him. She almost walked into Abigail when they stopped at the big picture window.

Abigail caught her, and then rubbed Cooper's back. He had been dozing off in Abby's arms.

"Hey, Cooper." she said gently to him. "You with us?"

He opened his eyes, nodded, and stretched. "Yep. Are we there yet?"

"We are, actually."

At this, Cooper brightened immediately and slid out of Abby's arms. He even dusted himself off and brushed at a wrinkle in his shirt.

Tickled, Abigail gave a soft laugh. "You looking for your mother?"

"Yep!"

"Then you might want to turn around."

Cooper did, and it was just in time to see Hollis emerging from the lounge. When they locked eyes with each other, she let out a cry of joy and dropped to the floor, holding her arms out to her son.

 _"_ _COOPER!"_

He ran straight to her, just as joy-filled. _"MOMMY!"_

Everybody in the room watched as mother and son reunited, and under the cover of all the clapping from everyone who had stopped to observe, Abby turned to Abigail in surprise.

 _"_ _Hollis Mann_ is a mom?"

Abby bobbed her head. "Yes, although it seems that that fun tidbit was a tidbit she was keeping to herself. I only knew her by reputation before today."

"But you still knew this whole day that she's _Cooper's_ mother? Do you know about her history with NCIS?"

"Yes, to both, but I just hadn't said anything yet because we've been a little preoccupied. I eventually just decided to surprise you."

"Then you can color me surprised." Abby gave Abigail's hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."

Abigail only had time to return the squeeze—she wanted to suggest that they go down to the lab—when Hollis reached them. She thanked the other women profusely, both with words, and hugs, for everything they had done for her and the other families. It didn't escape Hollis' notice, though, that Abby was looking a little worn out, so with one last thank you, she headed back to Gibbs.

They had been sitting together in the lounge before Abby, Abigail, and Cooper had returned, just holding each other and waiting.

He took all of his cases—the long or the short, the easy or the hard—all very seriously, but ones involving children always got to him because he had been a father once; had Kelly lived, she would only be a few months older than Ziva was now. However, because it was _Hollis'_ offspring that had been rescued and returned tonight, his heart was flip-flopping more than it usually would.

Gibbs had watched Hollis and Cooper reunite, started the applause, and then witnessed Hollis thanking Abby and Abigail. When she retreated back to him, Cooper safely in her arms, they spoke in quiet tones.

"Thank you, Leroy." she whispered to him. "For everything."

"You're welcome." he whispered back. "Let's go sit down."

He put an arm around Hollis' shoulders and led them the lounge's couch, helping her and Cooper to get settled. The little boy snuggled up to his mother, and fell fast asleep, listening to her heartbeat. For her part, Hollis cuddled her son and gave him kisses on the top oh his head. She was even crying, but only because was overwhelmed with relief to have Cooper back in her arms again. She was complete, and they were a family, the two of them.

"Come sit again, Leroy." Hollis told him when she saw him watching. "I want you to. It's okay."

He did, and just continued to watch Hollis interact with her son. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs knew full well that people referred to him as a 'functioning mute' because he could come off as the 'strong and silent' type, but because he was human, it was possible that he could be rendered speechless at the sight of something truly beautiful. This was one of those times.

He almost missed Hollis' next words because he'd been so wrapped up in the moment.

"I just want to stay here a little bit longer because I've just missed you so much these past years." she smiled and then sighed. "I also have to figure out how to get back to my car—I left it at the arcade…"

"I'll drive you guys over."

"Really?"

Gibbs wiped Hollis' tears and kissed her temple. "Really. I've got your back, Hols. Now, and always."

"Thank you. I love knowing that." Hollis kissed Gibbs' cheek. "And if you want, you can come around in the morning."

"I can do that." Gibbs wrapped an around Hollis' waist and held her close. "Are you still at the same place?"

"Is grass green?" she teased gently.

Gibbs actually laughed at this—he'd missed everything about Hollis Lorelei Mann, all the way down to the way that she used to play with him.

"That's that, then." he wrapped his other arm around her waist, and in response, Hollis melted into his hold. "I'll pick you guys up at eight tomorrow."

"Sounds great."

"What do you need right now?"

"Just for you to keep holding us until it's time to go."

So Gibbs did.

* * *

Meanwhile, Abby and Abigail were down in the lab.

Abby was pleased to see her things from the arcade waiting for her on her main table, and after double-checking to see that she had everything, she began the process of shutting her machines down for the night. She usually played music and talked to the machines while this happened, but not tonight. She just wanted to go.

Abigail sat in one of the desk chairs, watching in fascination as Abby went about her business. "Is this what you do at the end of every day?"

"Uh-huh, but I don't usually have company. I like it." Abby answered. "Make yourself at home."

Abigail continued to watch… even when Abby left to her office, and changed clothes in full view of the window. Tired though she was, Abby was fully aware that the agent had been watching her backside, so she 'accidentally on purpose' made sure the other woman had something to look at.

"Think you can slow down a moment?" Abigail asked when she reemerged.

"Sure!" Abby sidled up to her. "What are you thinking?"

Abigail stood and pulled Abby close to her, holding her hands. "I was worried sick about you all day, and I've been thinking about how I've been wanting to do this."

She kissed Abby soundly.

Abby felt her heart jump into her throat in surprise, but this was by no means unwanted because she'd been thinking about it, too. She deepened the kiss, resting her hand on Abigail's hips.

She was almost to the point of pinning Abigail against the nearest wall, when—

 _BZZZ!_

"Oh, come on!" Abigail complained, jumping at the feel of Abby's phone. "Of all times for your phone to start vibrating!"

Abby's phone had run out of power while she'd been gone, so she'd hooked it up to a battery pack to charge and stuck both devices in her dress pocket. She and Abigail had been standing so close that they both felt the phone vibrating as it blew up with missed calls and text messages.

"One more kiss because you're pretty," Abby said quickly, kissing Abigail's lips before stepping backwards, out of her hold.

Sighing, Abigail watched Abby read her texts and check her phone calls. They were all from the same person, so she called the number.

But the conversation went south very fast.

"Jake!" Abby said urgently when the other person picked up. "What—"

Pause. Abby's face fell as she listened to what Jake was telling her.

"Midnight? Do you _know_ the kind of day I've had?"

Pause. Abby was angered by the next development.

"Well, maybe _you_ just need to learn better management skills, buddy!"

Abby ended the call and sat on the floor, fuming. Abigail knelt in front of her after a beat.

"What was that call about?" she asked.

"That was my landlord." Abby huffed. "He's always had terrible people skills, but he just dropped a hell of a bombshell on me."

"Go on."

 _"_ _Apparently,_ the building where I live has termites, and it _has_ to have an emergency fumigation! I have until midnight to get everything I need, _and_ find a new home for the next two weeks!"

"That's really unfortunate."

"In all fairness, Jake did try to get a hold of me, but since I was away from my phone all day, I couldn't see anything, could I? He did his best, but he didn't even _try_ to be sympathetic just now, and _that_ is what's grinding my gears, Abigail." It took everything Abby had to not break down in frustration. "Now I don't have anywhere to go, and I saw Gibbs and Hollis making heart eyes at each other, so that's out, too. And who _knows_ if I can get a room at a hotel in town on a Friday night during football season…"

Abigail patted her cheek. "You can come stay with me."

Abby's heart skipped a beat—had she just heard what she thought she'd heard? "Are you sure about that, Abigail? Do you mean it?"

"I'm positive, and I _do_ mean it." she confirmed. "Two weeks, three weeks, however long you need."

"Oh, thank you!"

Abby felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was almost dizzying.

"Will you kiss me again?" she asked shyly.

"With pleasure."

And they kissed all over again.


	10. Ten

***insert apology about updating process here***

 **Abby is getting ready to stay with Abigail while her apartment building is being subjected to an exterminator. They've also not-so-subtly been flirting, and talking about the future together. You might want to back to the previous chapter for a** **refresher.**

 ***hides in cone of shame***

* * *

Abby was pleasantly surprised that excitement was the first look on Abigail's face when they entered her home together. She'd been nervous of her opinion because it wasn't exactly traditional.

It was much like stepping into some kind of Southern Gothic tale. From the furniture style, to the archways that led to other parts of the dwelling or to alcoves that showed off Abby's favorite things, and even to the wrought spiral staircase that led to an upper promenade with more displays, it had a romantic charm. The candelabras and stained glass also helped add to the appeal. So did the objects and extra gothic decor. There was even a larger alcove dedicated to her technology, too. Abigail wouldn't have expected anything less of Abby Sciuto's place.

And overall, she found the apartment to be very cozy.

"What do you think?" Abby asked nervously.

"I really like it." Abigail replied sincerely. "But hey—is it true that you sleep in a coffin?"

"Yep! How did you even hear about that?"

"I've read _Deep Six_ more than once. I'm also really good at unscrambling anagrams, too."

Abby laughed. "So you unscrambled 'Thom E. Gemcity,' and put the pieces together after that?"

"I did. I just never mention it around Tim because I'm sure you all heckled him enough when the book was new."

Abby smirked. "Tony and Ziva threatened him bodily harm if he ever published something besides that, or the longstanding unfinished sequel, _Rock Hollow."_

"Sounds about right."

"Come on." Abby beckoned to her. "This is where I sleep."

Like the rest of Abby's apartment, her bedroom showed off her proclivity for the gothic lifestyle, but things were more… intimate. Abigail briefly wondered how many people had seen this side of Abby in recent times. She had a feeling that the number was limited.

And there was Abby's coffin, in pride of place on a raised platform. It looked like most other coffins, except that it was high-end and had been outfitted for use as an actual bed. The idea sleeping in it even sounded appealing.

Abby broke through her thoughts. "Is it too weird?" Abby was nervous again.

"Uh-uh. I think it's all uniquely you." Abigail gave Abby's hand a gentle squeeze. "Where's your luggage? In your closet?"

"Yup. I'll go get it, but don't be afraid to look around."

Abigail nodded, and was left on her own for a few minutes.

Abby's bedroom was filled with even more things that accentuated her taste in dark and unusual things. While Abigail wasn't surprised by the voodoo equipment, she was amused to see to see that a whole separate area of the room that housed a large number of bowling trophies and pictures from a bowling team, as well as other kinds of bowling-related items. There was no question about what Abby did for fun.

So she bowls, Abigail thought. Maybe we can do that for a first date.

Her thoughts were derailed the next second when she saw something that made her stop in her tracks. _Two_ somethings.

"What are you looking at, beautiful?" Abby asked when she returned with her luggage.

"These."

Abigail motioned towards a pair of stuffed bears on the bedside table. One bear was green, the other yellow, and both looked like they'd seen the power of time and lots of love. There had to be a story behind them.

Abby gently deposited the toys into Abigail's arms. "Nobody outside of my immediate family knows, but I miscarried twins once."

Abigail's heart filled with sorrow. "Oh, Abby..."

"I was even engaged to the father, but things didn't work out. He was a selfish jerk. I haven't seen him since, and I'm perfectly okay with that." Abby tapped her shoulder blades. "I have stick figures angels tattooed here, and a cross on my back, to honor my kids."

Without thinking, Abigail said, "I saw them."

 _"_ _Really,_ now?"

Abby's tone was full of amusement. "You would have only seen those if you'd been checking me out while I was changing clothes at the lab."

"I, uh…" Abigail stammered.

"Well, take a breath—I was putting on a show for you because I totally knew that you were watching."

Abigail exhaled noisily. "Thank God. I was really enjoying the view."

"I'll remember that." Abby smirked. "I don't mind you checking me out."

She looked back at the stuffed animals in Abigail's arms.

"My mom gave those to me when I was recovering in the hospital. She suggested they might help with coping. I named them Haven and Harper."

"When were you due?" Abigail asked softly.

"On Christmas Day. My kids would be twenty this year, but at least they're in Heaven together, watching over mommy and chasing butterflies."

Abby lifted the stuffed animals out of Abigail's hands and put them back on the table. She would come back for them before they left.

"I'm going to take a shower," she told Abigail. "And then we can get started on packing, alright?"

"Okay. Sounds good to me."

* * *

In a little over an hour, Abby had enough of a wardrobe to last for the two weeks, her tech had been taken taken care of, her favorite belongings were packed, she had a bag of her portable tech, and her fridge had been cleaned out, too. It wasn't even a long drive to Abigail's house on Collingwood Row.

Abby watched Abigail unlock the door. "Anything I should know about the animals? I'm sober this time."

"We'll have to do some animal-related housekeeping after we put our stuff away." Abigail replied as she got the door open and helped Abby bring her things inside. "Ruby has free roam of the house, but Darwin, Bowser, and Scooby will be in their kennels. The neighbor boys to the right, Silas and Jasper, come check on them for me when I ask."

"Have they been by tonight?"

"Yep. Silas texted me when we were leaving the Navy Yard." Abigail shut the door against the cold weather. "Darwin, Bowser, and Scooby always eat in the early evening, but everyone else eats around now."

"Copy that."

Just as they put away their jackets and shoes, there came two back-to-back noises.

 _BOOM!_

 _WOOSH!_

They heard a rumble of thunder, tail-ended by a massive downpour.

This was then rounded out by a chorus of barks and howls.

Abby giggled. "I take it that your canine babies don't like this weather?

Abigail sighed. "They really don't."

At that moment, Ruby the cat wandered in and rubbed herself against Abby's ankles. She even meowed very loudly. Making an entrance was her specialty.

"Hello, gorgeous girl." Abby picked her up and gave her a hug. "Hello."

Ruby's meows turned to louder purrs as she curled up in her friend's arms.

"Wow." Abigail said in surprise. "Ruby doesn't let just anyone pick her up."

Abby arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm not 'just anyone,' am I?"

"Certainly not. Now let's go spring the three amigos out."

Abby was led to a large storage room of sorts at the side of the house. Goods and supplies lined innumerable wraparound pantry shelves, and everything was organized according to species of pet. There was even a label system in place. Other features of the room included a dry-erase board with a very long list of things to be picked up at the local pet store, as well as a refrigerator and an external freezer. Abby couldn't imagine what was in them.

The dogs were in the middle of the room, each in their crates, and each now holding a favorite toy in their mouths. Just Abigail turning on the light had caused them to quieten. Their wagging tails, however, were already expressing the excitement that each of them was doing their best to contain.

Abby turned to her companion. "I've never seen dogs this well behaved before."

"The boys recognize and my authority, but it's also because you're here. Holding a toy also helps them keep it together." Abigail undid the crate latches. "We do this every day."

"Incredible."

Ruby left the room as the dogs gathered around Abby and Abigail, not in any mood to be trodden on.

"Hi, babies." Abby greeted each dog with head rubs and pats. "I missed all three of you very much. Oh, yes, I did."

The dogs' response was to drop their toys in front of her.

"Woah."

Abigail turned around from gathering some particular supplies. "What's up?"

"The dogs are sharing their toys."

"Well, how about that? My parrot approves of you, the cat approves of you, and now dogs approve of you."

"Remind me who is left in the menagerie now?"

"My budgies, and Spyro, my bearded dragon."

"Okay, then who is _that_ for?"

Abigail was holding a small box with breathing holes with in her hands. It was closed tight, but what made Abby nervous was the 'LIVE BAIT' message stamped across the side, and that Abigail now had a pair of long feeding prongs protruding from a back pocket.

"They're for Spyro. He's first up on the feeding list."

"And your scaly baby eats crickets, or something?

Abigail shrugged. "Sometimes he gets mealworms, but he also likes fruits and veggies, too. We'll have more fun with him tomorrow."

Abby recalled a piece of information she'd learned in her inebriated state during her last visit. "That's because you said Spyro is a grump at night."

"Correct, but I have some ideas of how to play with everyone else."

"Like what?"

Abigail winked. "You'll see, Abby. Also, can you get that there, please? The pink one?"

She pointed to a small plastic storage box on a nearby shelf. It was marked 'BIRD FEED' in big block letters.

Abby picked it up. "Where to?"

* * *

Despite Abigail's reserved reputation the workplace, her home was the opposite. Had Abby never visited, she would have expected something along the lines of tidy and reserved, like the home of every other service member she'd visited. But it wasn't so in this case.

Abigail's home was bright and homey, with her office being no exception. The walls were bright green, and everywhere that Abby looked, there were numerous bookshelves crammed full of all kind of interesting titles. She also spotted an area of the room dedicated Abigail's time in the Marines, too. Her desk was near a cozy window seat and was unsurprisingly covered in more books. Next to it was—

"Is that Spyro?" Abby asked. "He's cute!"

True enough, Abigail's bearded dragon, movement in the room and had come to the forefront of his cage to investigate. Spyro was earth-colored, and looked a little intimidating with his claws, and his body armor of spikes and scales, but quite the opposite of Abigail's descriptor of him, he seemed… cheerful.

"Hear that?" Abigail cooed to her lizard as she opened the top of his cage. "Abby thinks you're cute, and she's totally right!"

Spyro just yawned and proceeded to lazily catch his offerings of crickets with his tongue for awhile. When he had been completely taken care of, and his cage re-secured, the humans moved on to the aviary. It wasn't far from the office.

Abigail's ten Budgerigar birds were simple simple creatures, only singing and appreciating the hand that fed them.

Neptune was a different story. He remembered Abby. When he saw her, all he wanted was to play and chatter. Abby had never had a parrot before. She returned him to his cage only after Abigail finished cleaning it and topping off the food and water supply. She found Neptune to be quite a charmer.

"Well," Abigail said when they'd exited the aviary and closed the door behind them. "You've officially met _all_ of my pets."

Abby nodded. "I have, and they've all taken to me much better than I thought they would."

"That makes me really happy." Abigail held out the things they'd taken from the pet room. "Do you remember where I got all of these from?"

"Uh-uh. Would you like me to put everything away?"

"Yes, please, and make yourself at home." Abigail smiled at her. "You live here now, too, so I'm officially giving you free range of the house. There's even leftover pizza."

"That actually sounds really good. What are you going to do?"

"Take a shower, and get ready for a night in with you. I still have a few things up my sleeve."

"I can't wait."

* * *

After a quick meal, Abby moved from the kitchen table to sitting on the living room couch. The furry pets descending on her immediately. Ruby claimed her lap and purred, while Darwin laid beside them, resting his head on Abby's thigh. His weight and warmth were very comforting. Bowser and Scooby parked themselves at Abby's feet, both asleep in moments. All was quiet, all was well.

They all sat together in silence, enjoying each other, and listening to the sounds of the rain.

Abigail returned from the upper level of the house at this moment, and felt her heart melt at the sight. She already loved Abby, but seeing the dogs and the cat respond to her this well sealed the deal. She was a total keeper. It was as if Abby had always been part of their lives.

Abigail wanted to marry her.

"Abby?"

She turned at the sound of her name, and then smiled. Abigail was dressed in casual pajamas, had her hair done in wraparound braids, and was even makeup-free and barefoot. This was a sight that Abby wouldn't mind coming home to every night.

"Hey." Abby greeted her as she sat with her.

"I just finished printing out these recipes for homemade pet treats," Abigail showed her a stack of papers she'd set on the coffee table. "But I see that look in your eye. You're having some kind of deep thought, huh?"

"I am, but it's about what we discussed earlier, back at my place."

"Mum's the word." Abigail said sincerely.

"Not too long ago, I had a conversation with a specialist, and she said that the chances of me being able to have a baby through IVF are actually really good for someone my age."

"So when we were in the lab, and you talked about some future kid of yours kicking you from the inside, you were actually considering it, anyway."

Abby bobbed her head. "Yes. I also recall you admitting that you were imagining me pregnant."

Leaning over, Abigail kissed Abby's cheek. "So I did. You would look so cute with a baby bump."

"You're just saying that."

"I am _not._ You would be _extremely_ cute, and at the end of it, there would be a mini-Abby to love."

Abby laughed, although it was because she was relieved that Abigail was painting a nice picture. "That's a good point. So you think that me taking another shot at being a mom isn't a bad idea?"

"I think it's a _wonderful_ idea, and if you want, I could help."

Abby's heart jumped. "Really? I have the funds to make this happen, but Abigail Irene, I haven't even started the hormone therapy."

"I'm very, _very_ sure, and I could even be some sort of mother figure to the kid. Everybody needs two parents."

Just like that, Abby knew she wanted to marry Abigail. Now if only they could figure out how to tell each other that they loved each other.

"They do." Abby agreed when she finally remembered how to talk. "And thank you—you have no idea how much this means to me."

Abigail put one hand on top of Abby's. "I always wanted to be a mom, but then I lost my fiancé while we were enlisted in Iraq. I guess I put the dream away after that."

Abby hugged her. She didn't know what to say, but she hoped that her hug would be able to convey the sympathy that she was feeling. It definitely helped to have someone to hold as she felt her heart and brain come to a major life decision.

She pulled away and stroked Abigail's face. "I love everything about this discussion, and I _definitely_ want you as my kid's other mom. I just have one request."

"Name it."

"Whatever this is, I just want it to be _ours_ for awhile. Until we figure it out. We did just talk about becoming parents, but…"

"I know what you're trying to say." Abigail told her. "It helps that we've been friends for awhile already, but taking it slow is perfectly okay with me."

Abigail turned to mush on the spot. She almost even said, "I love you," but withheld it. There would be another time.

So she just watched as Abby moved Ruby off her lap, and then step over Scooby and Bowser. She even apologized to Scooby for almost tripping over his back. In response, they just stood and stretched out, with Darwin following suit. They were all ready to travel to wherever Abby's next spot was going to be. Even Ruby made to join the pack.

Abby stood and turned back to Abigail. "You coming?"

Abigail stood and followed her, grabbing the recipes as she went. "You bet."

"By the way, I can bake a mean blueberry cobbler, but I've never baked exclusively for a _pet."_

"No? And what kinds of pets did you have in Louisiana? Chickens?"

"Amongst other things. Aren't you from actual farm country, though?"

"It's even deep in _Amish_ Country." Abigail confirmed as they walked into the kitchen. "I had a pet duck named Lula, and she lived to be twelve years old, which is a ripe old age for the kind of duck that she was."

"I was never _that_ attached to _our_ fowl. How did you get Lula?"

So Abigail began to tell the story of how she got her first pet.

Abby hung on to every word.


	11. Eleven

In the middle of making pet treats, Abby got an interesting text from Ziva.

"What was that about?" Abigail asked Abby when she resumed the activity.

"We've been through a slew of cases lately at HQ, and the one before this last one was a disaster because innocent people died." Abby explained. "That text was from Ziva. Vance is giving us until Tuesday to recharge because things have been beyond crazy—I didn't get the memo because I keep different hours than the rest of them, so that why we left first."

"You're also off until Tuesday. So are we."

"Really?" Abby said in surprise. "Why?"

"CGIS is undergoing an upgrade that's been much needed since the second Bush administration." Abigail joked. "We're getting new computers and a paint job. Everything will be up and running in time for work on Tuesday morning."

"And this is Thursday night. I've never appreciated Thursdays this much."

"Same—hey!"

In seeing her mamas concocting something, Ruby had leapt onto the countertop and was now sniffing at an open jar of peanut butter.

"That isn't for you!" Abigail scolded her cat. _"Your_ treats are next!"

Ruby just meowed cutely at her.

Abby ended up coming to the rescue. Spotting a cat-sized toy ball on the floor, she held it out the feline and shook it. It jingled. The noise got Ruby's attention.

"Go find it!" Abby tossed the ball into the next room. "You got it!"

The toy had landed at the of the big scratching post by the living room window. Ruby ran for it, full speed.

Abigail shook her head. "Unbelievable—I thought I'd seen everything around here, but no. My cat acts like a dog, and my dogs act like they're cats. They're so strange."

Darwin, Bowser, and Scooby were dozing together in the corner of the kitchen that was closest to the heater. Just as Ruby was used to the their crazy ways, they were used to her unpredictability. The fact that she'd run after a jingling toy didn't faze them a single bit. The dogs were so unbothered by what had just happened that one of them was even beginning to snore.

Abby chuckled. "The animals keep you on your toes, don't they?"

"They really do. Here you go."

They had successfully rolled out the dough, and the next step was shaping it. Abigail was now handing Abby a cookie cutter shaped like a dog bone. She took it, and they soon fell into a rhythm of making shapes in the dough.

After awhile, Abby asked, "Any plans for this mini vacation?"

Abigail sighed in dejection. "Tomorrow is about the animals, mostly because I've been procrastinating."

"What do you have to do?"

"For starters, a load of groceries in being delivered around ten tomorrow. The person should be here at ten."

"So that's the first part. What's the rest?"

"Taking the dogs to the dog wash at the pet store because they're all overdue for baths, and also picking up supplies for the rest of the zoo. It's going to be a long day. The duties of a pet mother never ends."

"Sounds like it." Abby agreed. "What time do you want to go?"

This threw Abigail for a loop, but for the umpteenth time, she was falling even more in love with Abby. Pet days were always long and cumbersome. They also took hours. Not only was Abby offering to come along, but she also wanted to help. Like a wife.

"You want to come?" she finally said.

"I do, and it could be fun—plus, I can give you a hand at the dog wash."

"Then how does eleven sound?"

"Just right."

"Then that's that," Abigail raised an eyebrow. "But do _you_ have any weekend plans?"

The goth beamed. "As a matter of fact, I do. I'm sure you figured out by now that my favorite hobby is bowling."

"Yep. I saw the trophies, too."

"Well, I packed my bowling gear because on most Saturday nights, that's what I do—"

She stopped short because while she knew the rest of what she had to say, it suddenly sounded absurd when she thought about it.

"But…?" Abigail prompted.

 _"_ _But,_ it's a theme night on Saturday. I still need to go rent my costume…"

Abigail winked. "That's another outing planned. What's the theme?"

"1950s."

"That's not too bad. Anything else?"

Abby shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I, uh, hang out with nuns, and we have a bowling team."

Abigail found herself thrown for a bigger loop. "Really?"

"It's true. There are five of them—Sister Helen, Sister Claire, Sister Mildred, Sister Lois, and Sister Scholastica."

"Did you say _Scholastica?"_

Abby put her cookie cutter down and rested her hands on her hips. "I'm an expert in forensics, weapons, and tech, I have three degrees that speak to those, _and_ I'm into the gothic lifestyle, but _your_ biggest reaction to finding out that I bowl with _nuns_ is that one of them is called Scholastica?"

Abigail began a hasty backpedal."That's all fine, even the gaggle of nuns, but Scholastica is one of the more _'_ _unusual'_ names I've encountered in awhile. Which actually says a lot."

"Why? Do you speak more than one language? I do."

"I'm learned Arabic when I joined the service, and I'm still fluent because I love the language. I can even sign, but I grew up as a bilingual child."

Abby was impressed by this, especially when at the mention of signing. "What was the second language?"

"Dutch."

"Woah. I didn't see that coming."

"Nobody does." Abigail shrugged. "The majority of my parents' clientele are Amish farmers who speak the language, and I worked on the farm when I was growing up. My mom was even born in Amsterdam, Holland."

Abby was even more impressed. "Then you learned the language out of necessity."

"I did. So did my brothers, and my sister."

Abby's eyes winded at this particular tidbit. "How many siblings do you _have?"_

"I've got four, and I'm not the oldest, but the conversation is getting away from us—wasn't this about bowling night?"

"Right." Abby cleared her throat. "Do you bowl, Abigail?"

"Yes. The only sport that Charm had any league for when I was a kid _was_ bowling, so I learned how to play the moment I had the balance, the coordination, and the dexterity."

"Wow. Do you want to come to bowling with me? The sisters would love to meet you."

"Mark me down as ready to meet your friends and have a bowling night." Abigail decided. "I need to rent a costume, too."

Abby smirked again. "I can take care of that."

"Then it's a date. We're almost done with the dog treats here, so how about I finish while you go make some calls?"

"I can do that."

Abigail finished up their current baking endeavor before moving on to preparing for the next one. The dogs continued to sleep. The cat continued to play. Abby could be heard chatting on the phone from the living room while the rain fell steadily outside. The only thing missing was a kid or two.

Abigail's heart did a somersault when she realized that she could get used to this.

"It's all been squared away." Abby chirped when she came back. "Now tell me what's happening _here."_

Since there was only one cat in the house, there was nothing in the recipe to multiply by three. But Ruby still found ways to intervene. Her treats were made with tunafish, one of her favorite things to eat. They had to resort to distracting her with catnip to keep her occupied.

But this was good.

It felt like any other night.

* * *

Before long, all of the treats had been prepared, baked, cooled, and stored. Everything was even cleaned up in record timing. Both Abby and Abigail were looking forward to just relaxing together.

When they retired to the couch, they turned to TV on, but it just became background noise while they turned to talk of other things besides the animals. Abby even pulled out her knitting basket to work on a project she'd started recently. She was tickled to see that Abigail had the same hobby.

"You also knit?" Abby observed.

Abigail nodded, and began to knit at a lightning speed that seemed natural for her. "I do, Starshine, and this hobby is another thing that can be attributed to farm life in Ohio, and stupidly long winters. I'm working on a scarf."

"Then I don't mean to spook you with being in sync, Abigail, but I'm also working on a scarf. Will you tell me about your family?"

"That's a super left turn if ever I heard one. Tell me about your family first."

"Okay, but it's kind of long."

 _"_ _Try me."_ challenged Abigail.

"I was adopted when I baby because my birth parents died unexpectedly, and there wasn't anybody else. My adoptive parents are called Beau and Gloria Sciuto. We're very close."

"Then if I'm remembering _Deep Six_ right," Abigail said thoughtfully. "The mother of your fictional counterpart is deaf. Is that really true?"

"Mhm. _Both_ of my parents are deaf, and one aunt is hard of hearing." Abby explained. "Other than that, my brother and my uncles both have perfect hearing. _Mine_ only becomes questionable when I go to a concert."

"I'll remember that. What do Beau and Gloria do?"

"They run a really popular bakery on Canal Street. My brother and his wife also work there, and they plan to take it over when mom and dad retire."

"Now there's a solid plan."

Just to try, Abigail gave Abby's thigh an affectionate squeeze. She was rewarded with a soft lusty sigh in response.

"I guess this means it's time to start talking about my family life in Charm."

Abby spoke to keep from jumping Abigail's bones. "Yes. What are _your_ parents' names?"

"Ezra and Anouk Borin. They've known each other since my mom's family moved to town from Europe when she was four."

"Are your mom's parents around?"

Abigail sighed and shook her head. "No. My mom's parents and her baby brother died when a tornado ripped though the area less than a year later."

"Oh, my God." Abby said in genuine shock. "What happened after that?"

"A neighbor took her in. Fast forward eighteen years, and my parents are newlyweds with their own farm. They're still there."

"Gotcha. Anything to share about your dad?"

"Not really—that side of the family tree is even more bare."

There was probably a story there, but Abby chose not to push it. "What are your siblings' names?"

"My big brothers are also farmers, and they're called Philip, Levi, and Solomon."

"Still in town?" Abby guessed.

Abigail rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Only because they and their families are too set in their ways to think about going anywhere else."

Abby patted her on the arm. "That's your parents and your brothers explained. Who's left now?"

"My sister, Bethel. I'm closest with her."

"Why's that?"

"My parents aren't exactly nice people, Abby. They're narrow-minded, and they've never taken kindly to me or Bethel being bisexual."

"I'm sorry."

Abigail shrugged a second time. "It is what it is. Does learning this about my family make you think any less of me?"

"No." Abby said honestly. "It just adds more to your story, and my parents will totally spoil you when we go see them at Christmas. I could even be pregnant by then."

"Fingers crossed."

Leaning over, Abigail kissed Abby's middle a few times. Imagining her pregnant was very easy. And enjoyable.

"Promise me something?"

It was a moment before Abby responded with a nod. Abigail was a fantastic kisser, and not only were passionate kisses neuron-frying, but the loving ones were so delicate that she almost turned to putty on the spot. She'd never been kissed or touched like this before. It was different. It was amazing.

If this was just scratching the surface, then what would forever be like?

"I will promise you anything, beautiful." Abby said as she began to knit again.

"Then if the universe decides to bless us with more than one kid somehow, promise me that we won't play favorites with anyone."

"I promise—wait." the full scale of Abigail's words hit her. "Are you saying that _your_ parents do that?"

Abigail nodded. "They favor my brothers because they followed in their footsteps, but the first thing they counted against me was when I went to boarding school in another town. Then they went postal when I told them I was going to enlist."

"How come? Being able to serve your country is an honor, and I have all the respect in the world for war veterans."

"Thank you, Abigail Ramona. That means a lot." Abigail kissed her on the lips this time. "Their behavior doesn't always show it, but my parents are self-declared pacifists. They don't believe in war of any kind. Not even what I did, going to protect our country."

"That's unfortunate."

Abigail gave a third shrug. "Bethel got it worse than I did because my parents went out of their way to give her the short end of every stick. She's the fifth Borin child, but has always been called a mistake."

"Bethel is different. She's autistic and was born with extreme hearing loss." Abigail replied. "She's twenty-five, but has only been in the land of hearing for the past six months."

"Oh, wow."

"That's one way to put it. My parents resent Bethel because she couldn't really help on the farm, or anything—being that deaf where animals are always around is dangerous."

Now Abby wanted to hug Bethel, and she wasn't even there. "Was Bethel born with her hearing problem?"

"Yes—my parents are both carriers for the gene that caused the problem. She doesn't talk to them, and they don't talk to her."

"It sounds like your parents they punish Bethel just because of who she is."

"That's the truth, but a bright side is that Bethel has her own place of sorts. She's even working on getting out of Ohio, altogether." Abigail brought herself to smile at that last part. "I send her money to help, because my parents won't help her. They chose not to after they stopped talking."

Abby _really_ wanted to meet Bethel now. "I bet your brothers also aren't any help."

"Correct, but I'm proud of Bethel because she conquers every obstacle she encounters, and she chooses joy."

"She sounds like a ray of sunshine." Abby kissed Abigail. "I promise you that I will _never_ play favorites with our kids, and I also promise that how ever many kids we end up with, we'll teach them _all_ to be _good_ people."

"Definitely."

In that moment, Abigail wanted nothing more than to take Abby to bed with her upstairs. But she kept herself under control.

At least Abby was reciprocating the affection.

"And speaking of good people," Abigail went on. "There's another duo I'm wondering about."

Abby knew exactly where this was going. "You're talking about Gibbs and Hollis, huh?"

"I am. I saw the way that they were looking at each other."

"Those two are _totally_ going to make the most of the second chance that life has given them."

"Ziva _did_ mention that Gibbs and Hollis did used to date…"

"Oh, they did." Abby snickered at the memories. "Whenever they get around to talking about that, they're going to quit being shy and move forward together, like they should have."

"So they'll be okay?"

Abby nodded. "They will, and I'll see if I can weasel anything out of Gibbs on Tuesday."

Abigail felt satisfied by this. "Okay. I feel better now."

They were knitting for a few more minutes again when they both heard Abby's stomach rumble. She put her knitting aside, stood and stretched, and then headed towards the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Abigail called after her.

"Making dinner." Abby called back. "Are you down for a surprise?"

"Yes. Give a shout if you need something."

"You got it."

Abigail also stared after her, watching her backside again.

But her thoughts were filled with wondering what Abby's ring size was.


	12. Twelve

The next morning, Abby and Abigail woke up in bed together. Neither had said, "I love you," but it was an unspoken agreement that they were a couple now, and they'd stayed up talking for hours. Sharing a bed made sense.

After getting ready for the day, and taking care of the animals, they ended up back on the bed again.

* * *

Abigail checked the clock on her bedside table. "We have some time before the groceries get here."

How _much_ time?" Abby asked.

 _"This_ much."

Abigail kissed Abby because she couldn't keep her hands off her. Abby didn't mind, though. She loved any moment they could be playful.

Demonstrating this, she pinned Abigail down on the bed and peppered her lips, jaw, throat, and cleavage with hot, heavy kisses. Abigail was instant putty. And in a daze.

"Wow." she blew out a breath. "You just went from zero to sixty, _really_ fast."

"Now that I've slept so well, I am _much_ more myself, and _I_ can give _you_ all the kisses that _you_ deserve." Abby straddled her. "I _will_ say yes to sex when the time is right, but for now, I just want to pay you back."

"Okay. That's fair…"

Abigail's words ended in a loud moan because Abby was marking her territory by pressing a torrent of kisses on her inner thighs. The sensation made her feel weightless because it had been too long since anyone had touched her there.

Only Abby's kisses and Abigail's lusty sighs were heard for awhile.

But then the redhead took matters into her own hands before things derailed altogether. In the blink of an eye, Abby was on her back, and Abigail was astraddle on her. They weren't going to have sex, but nobody had said anything about play being prohibited. Abby even seemed to like it.

As Abigail prepared to give her girlfriend a new round of kisses and touches, her breath caught in her throat. Abby's shirt had ridden up, exposing her bare stomach, and she was greeted by a sight she hadn't been expecting.

Two new tattoos.

They were of two sets on baby footprints, and they were on the lower right side of Abby's middle.

"When did you get these?" Abigail touched a hand to the images. "You've never mentioned them before."

Abby held Abigail's hand flat against her middle, over the tattoos. "I got them three weeks ago, for Haven and Harper. Nobody knows about them but you. What do you think?"

"The tattoos are beautiful. I love them."

Abigail kissed her on the forehead and then slid further down Abby's body, until she was laying flat on her stomach, resting in between her legs.

"I'm so glad that this is happening." she said.

By 'this,' she meant their newfound relationship.

"I'm glad, too." Abby replied. "You're the piece of my heart that I didn't even know that I was missing. Now it's full, because of you."

Abigail kissed Abby's fingers. "My heart is full now, too. I promise to give you all the love that you deserve."

"And I promise to do the same thing for you."

Abby knew exactly what Abigail was going to do next, so she pulled back her heart to expose her whole middle. She then held both of Abigail's hands to it.

"I'm a fan of all of your kisses and touches, but the belly kisses are my favorite. You're just the first person I've ever been with who has realized this."

"Oh, wow."

Abby let go of Abigail's hands. "Kissing me there now is practice for when our baby is here, and appreciating the kisses as much as I do."

Abigail's heart filled up with even more love towards Abby. When would she tell her that she'd dreamed in the night of them being happily married with a few kids?

"Okay, then. Practice kisses it is."

Abigail proceeded to kiss Abby's middle while telling her what their future children were going to be like.

But then the spell was broken.

 _DING DONG!_

The doorbell rang, and in the living room, the dogs began to bark.

Abigail sighed and gave Abby's middle one last kiss before getting off the bed.

"That'll be the person with the groceries. I'll go get the door." she said. "Come join me when you've straightened yourself out."

Abby was now the one in the daze. "Okay…"

As Abigail retreated, Abby lay on the bed for a few more beats.

How soon would Abigail want to get the IVF ball rolling?

* * *

Earlier that morning across town, Gibbs woke up alone in his bed like always, but this morning, he was feeling very nervous. This was new.

The reason behind the nerves wasn't, though.

Hollis Lorelei Mann.

His truest love after Shannon. After Jenny.

Hollis was the one who had gotten away.

She was also the one who had returned.

And... she had a kid.

Cooper. His main interests in life were learning about animals, and looking at any book he could get his hands on. These were things worth cultivating.

After purchasing a bouquet of Hollis' favorite flowers for her, Gibbs found a stuffed elephant and a kid-friendly animal encyclopedia for Cooper at the local bookstore. Bringing presents was always a nice thing to do in a situation like this.

But as Gibbs arrived at Hollis' apartment, he realized that he was more nervous about making a good impression on Cooper because it had been awhile since he'd been close to any one child in particular.

 _DING DONG!_

Hollis lit up when she answered the door and ushered Gibbs into her home. She'd only seen him twelve hours previously, but now he was different.

He was dressed casually. He was happy. He was relaxed. This was how he always appeared in her dreams of him.

Gibbs presented the flowers with a flourish. "Holly, these are for you because I know that they're your favorites, and one of your names, too."

Hollis gave a cry of surprise when she recognized the bloom that her middle name stood for. "Loreleis! You remembered!"

"Of course I did. I even remember the extremely ridiculous thing that you're allergic to."

"You can forget that. You can _definitely_ forget that."

"You sure?" Gibbs teased.

"Positive." Hollis kissed Gibbs and patted his chest. "I'm going to go put the flowers in water. Why don't you go talk to Cooper? He's over there."

Gibbs found Cooper on the couch, dressed for the weather outside. He had been watching the adults' exchange closely because it wasn't every day that someone made his mother so happy. When he saw Gibbs, he waved.

Gibbs returned the greeting, and crossed the room to kneel in front of the toddler.

"Hey, Cooper! How's it going?" he asked. "Remember me?"

Cooper bobbed his head. "You're mommy's friend, Leroy, and know what?"

"Hm?"

"In mommy's room, she has a picture of you and her in a frame. It's by her bed."

Gibbs decided to file this information away for later and changed the subject for his little friend's benefit. "Did mommy tell you what we're all going to do together in a little bit?"

Cooper became even more spirited. "She said that we're going out for breakfast!"

"That's right, and she told me something about you."

Now Cooper was deeply impressed. "She _did?"_

"Yep." Gibbs confirmed. "Mommy told me that you love books and animals."

"Woah."

"Is that still true?"

"Yep!"

Gibbs presented Cooper with the rest of the presents he'd brought. "Then these are for you, buddy."

Cooper gave a squeal of delight when he undid the jungle-themed wrapping paper to see the book and the toy. It was like his new friend could read his mind. They hadn't even left the house yet, and this was turning out to be the best day ever.

Hollis returned to the living room to find her two favorite people sharing in a hug before Cooper uttered a, "Thank you!" and zoomed out with his new treasures.

"What was all that?" Hollis asked Gibbs as he made his way back to her.

"I couldn't bring something for you without bringing something for Cooper, so I got him an animal encyclopedia." het older her. "There's a stuffed elephant, too."

"His favorite thing to learn about, _and_ his most favorite animal." Hollis shook her head in amusement. "You're going to be Coop's new best friend."

"Works for me." Gibbs looked around. "Where'd he even go?"

Hollis heaved a sigh. "To his room, I'm sure, and he's probably named the elephant already. Let's go corral him before he takes his coat and shoes off."

It took a little bit longer because Cooper had done exactly as his mother had predicted, but after Hollis and Gibbs tag-teamed to get things back on track, they all finally left to go eat breakfast together. Like a family.

* * *

Hollis' and Cooper's favorite turned out to be the one that Gibbs frequented, and since there were three of them, they settled together in a rounded booth at at the back of the room. Cooper sat between Hollis and Gibbs, and after the waitress left to place the trio's orders, he began to entertain himself with his new toys. He was fast in his own little world.

So, Gibbs turned to his old flame. "What do you do now, Holly? Anything army-related?"

"In this town, you're never fully retired from anything related to the army or any of its cousins." she laughed. "I consult on different things for people, here and there, but I'm a college professor."

"Oh, really? Where?"

"Georgetown. I teach psychology."

Gibbs grinned. "And why doesn't that surprise me?"

"I'm a popular teacher, I'll have you know." sassed Hollis. "You're obviously still at NCIS, but what? No work today?"

"Nope. None until Tuesday."

"Why's that?"

"The short version is that the higher-ups discovered that we all have so much unused leave time if we didn't take it, there'd be a boatload lot of paperwork to do about it." Gibbs did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes. "What about you? No school?"

Hollis shook her head. "I teach three days a week, and in the intervening time, I work on my memoir."

"Good for you."

Hollis could tell that Gibbs was being sincere, but she could see that the idea of a forced vacation wasn't sitting well with him.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently.

"According to Leon, this 'vacation' _is_ paid, but it won't kick in if we're in the Navy Yard before Tuesday."

"Then we'll just have to do something to keep you occupied." Hollis kissed Gibbs on the cheek. "And speaking of boats…"

Gibbs kissed Hollis in return and winked. "That hobby is definitely still going strong."

"Just what I wanted to hear. What's this one called?"

"Well, why don't you come over and find out?"

Hollis' heart skipped a beat. "I can make those arrangements."

Before Gibbs could give any kind of response, the waitress arrived with breakfast. It was finally time to eat.

While Cooper enjoyed listening to the adults' banter, he was mostly quiet because of a thought he'd been ruminating over.

Then he blurted it out. "Mommy? I want—"

Hollis cut across him. "We're not having this talk right now, Cooper Jethro."

"But—"

"I mean it. If you ask me again, then shopping _and_ going to Jaxton's and Violet's house later is _off."_

Hollis' warning was enough to set Cooper straight. "Okay, mommy."

"Thank you, my boy. Go back to your food, please."

Cooper did.

Gibbs arched an eyebrow at Hollis. "Interesting middle name choice there."

"It's for you—the greatest man I've ever loved in my life."

Gibbs fell in love with her all over again on the spot. "Thank you, Holly. Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

Now Gibbs found himself changing the conversation topic because of his own curiosity. "What was that that Cooper was going to ask you?"

"He's desperate for a baby sister, and he's been asking me for one every day since Monday." Hollis told him. "Cooper's best friends—with whom he's going to be staying the night tonight—told him that their mother is expecting."

"Now he wants to be just like Jaxton and Violet." Gibbs realized.

"Bingo, and it's just as well that he'll be there all night."

"Care to share why?"

"Because I was already planning to explore my options about how to fulfill Cooper's wish."

Gibbs chose his words carefully. "If you want to come find out the boat's name and maybe work on her, I could listen to those options—I've even been told that I'm a good sounding board. I bet we can come to a solution."

Hollis understood what Gibbs was driving at, and she hugged him tightly.

How she loved this man.

From between them, Cooper squeaked, "Hey! I'm getting squished!"

Hollis and Gibbs pulled apart.

Gibbs fixed a ruffle in the toddler's shirt. "Sorry, buddy. How's that?"

 _"Way_ better." Cooper approved.

In a pointed tone, Hollis made a suggestion to her offspring. "My boy, why don't you ask Leroy the question that you had for _him?"_

Cooper gave a nervous giggle and tuned to Gibbs. "Please can you come shopping with us?"

Even if Cooper hadn't turned on his puppy dog eyes, Gibbs wouldn't have denied him anything.

"You bet I will. Why don't you think about what you want to get, and we'll talk about it when we're done here?"

This was a great idea in Cooper's mind, so he went back to his food once again.

Hollis, on the other hand, gave Gibbs a look that conveyed only one emotion.

The expression that Gibbs responded with conveyed the same thing.

Love.

There was no denying it. They were more in love with each other than ever.

"Holly, I love you." Gibbs told her.

 _"I_ love _you,_ Leroy." she replied. "I've never stopped."

And just like that, Gibbs and Hollis knew they were back in each other's lives for good.


	13. Thirteen

After a long day of errand-running, it was finally time for Abby and Abigail to dote on the scaly member of the family.

In addition to crickets (the crispier, the better), Spyro also enjoyed a wide variety of greens and fruits. He was particularly partial to okra and kale. His _most_ favorite thing to eat, however, was lively, wriggly mealworms. This had never bothered Abigail.

To that end, she went to collect Spyro's mealworms while she left Abby to do the fruit and vegetable chopping.

It was while this happened, that Abby's phone rang. Hollis was calling. She found this perplexing, but she put the device on speaker, all the same.

"Hollis," Abby called. "You're on speaker."

"Oh. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"I'm just working on the kitchen, making food. What do you need?"

Before Hollis could respond, Abigail happened back into the room carrying one of the many pet-related boxes with 'LIVE BAIT' stamped on it.

"I have the mealworms, Abby."

Hollis couldn't help herself and cried, "Abby, what the hell?!"

Abigail recognized her acquaintance's voice. _"Hollis?"_

Now she was more confused than ever. _"Abigail Borin?_ Why the _hell_ do you have _mealworms?!"_

Abby provided some clarification. "I'm staying at Abigail's house because my building is being tented for termites. It just so happens that our friend from CGIS has a very cute bearded dragon amongst her plethora of pets, and he really loves to eat mealworms from time to time."

"What is happening?" Abigail asked in actual confusion.

Hollis pinched the bridge of her nose. "Abby?"

"Yes?" they both responded.

"Come on!"

Abby showed her a little more mercy. "Okay, we're done with pushing your buttons. What's up, Hollis?"

She gave a nervous laugh. "I'm going to go spend some time with Leroy, but I am positively blanking out on his favorite color."

"I see where this is going. You have a bunch of clothes laid out on your bed, huh?"

Hollis absolutely did.

"No!" she replied a little too quickly.

Abby smirked. "You're a bad liar, Hollis, and you're getting soft."

"I am _not._ Why are you making food for Abigail's pet with her on a _Friday_ night?"

"Because friendship is a thing, and I'm staying at her place. Remember?"

"And," Abigail chimed in. "Abby and I are a couple."

This gave a Hollis a jolt of unexpected joy; though she hadn't known Abigail Borin for long, it had been plain to see that she and Abigail Sciuto were more than a pair. They were meant for each other. She was going to take their getting together as a positive sign that things would work out for her and Gibbs, too.

"Oh, my goodness. Congratulations."

"Thanks! Are you and Leroy a thing? I heard that that used to be the case."

Hollis finally stomped her foot in frustration because only one person could have availed the redhead of this. "Abby!"

Startled because she'd been chopping vegetables again, the dark-haired woman protested, "What? Ziva told her first!"

"Of course she did. Will you _please_ tell me Leroy's favorite color?"

"It's blue, like his eyes."

Hollis breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, and yes, Leroy and I are together. It's just very brand new."

"Got it." Abby said seriously.

"I'll even keep quiet about you and Abigail, so long as you promise to do something for me."

"Not spill your secret?"

"Precisely."

"Then mum's the word, Hollis, but I'm so happy for you and Gibbs."

"I second that." Abigail added.

"Thank you, and I'm quite happy for the two of you, as well. Have a good night."

Both parties hung up, and Abby turned to Abigail.

"What's _your_ favorite color?" she asked her.

"Green! What about you?"

"Contrary to popular belief, my most favorite color is not black. It's purple."

Abigail immediately envisioned proposing to Abby with a purple jade ring. "Noted for future occasions. How's it going with the chopping?"

Luckily, Abby had more things sliced and diced than not. "I'm almost done."

"Perfect. You finish up there, and I'll deal with the creepy crawlies."

"Whew."

Abigail chuckled. "You are going to have to learn to handle them for Spyro eventually."

Abby just blanched and changed the subject.

* * *

As for Hollis, she settled on casual attire for her trip to Gibbs' house.

Her jeans were black, as were her socks and underthings, and but her shirt and hightop sneakers were a deep royal blue. Even her hair-tie matched that part of the color scheme. For good luck, she was even wearing her bomber jacket from her combat days. Hollis felt complete, confident, and ready to revisit Leroy Jethro Gibbs in his 'after hours, away from NCIS' mode. She loved him, but she loved seeing the way he was when he wasn't being a crusader for justice.

* * *

Remembering Gibbs' open door policy, Hollis let herself into the house.

The man was clearly expecting her because he had invited her, but Hollis felt her stomach turn over when she smelled food cooking. She knew that he didn't live exclusively on takeout, steak, and beer, but she still didn't know all what Gibbs had in his repertoire. Maybe this was another sign of good things to come.

Hollis hung up her jacket and called out, "Leroy? Where'd you go?"

"Here, Holly!"

Gibbs came down from the second floor, instead of up the stairs from the basement. Hollis had never seen Gibbs' bedroom before. Would she, tonight?

"Hello, handsome." she purred after they hugged and kissed. "How are you?"

"Better, now that you're here," Gibbs gave her another kiss. "But we were only apart for a few hours."

"That was a few hours _too_ many. Cooper practically talked himself hoarse after we parted ways with you—it's a wonder that we made it to Jaxton's and Violet's in one piece."

"How's that?"

Hollis moved to the bottom stair and sat. "After shopping for an elephant costume, since he's a costumed birthday sleep over, springing for a new outfit and shoes, _and_ presents for Jaxton and Violet, you'd think that that Cooper would have wanted some down time."

"Or at least be worn out. What happened?"

"He had me dictate a very long list of things that he wants to do with us."

Gibbs grinned in amusement. "And just what is the first item?"

"Flying in a rocket ship to the moon, but I think that that's unattainable."

"Just a tad, but I would give Cooper the moon if I could."

Hollis' heart flip-flopped. "Thank you, Leroy."

Gibbs knelt in front of his lover and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You're welcome. What's the second item on Cooper's agenda?"

"The three of us hanging out at the National Zoo."

"That is definitely attainable. How about tomorrow?"

Hollis' heart jumped again. "Okay."

"Then it's a date."

Hollis gave Gibbs' hands a gentle squeeze and nodded towards the kitchen. "What's cooking?"

"Homemade pizza. That cool with you?"

"Very. How long until it's ready?"

Gibbs checked his watch. "An hour."

"Then let's go check out that boat."

"Alright." Gibbs got to his feet and helped her up. "And Holly?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"You look really beautiful in blue. I think you should wear it more often."

"Then I totally will."

"Good." Gibbs took her by the hand and gave a gentle tug. "Let's move downstairs."

* * *

Gibbs' current boat had its skeleton constructed, but the most constructed part was the stern. A name had even been stenciled out already. When Hollis read it, the gravity of the surprise actually made her legs buckle. Good thing there was a stool behind her.

The boat's name?

 _Hollis._

"Beer?"

Hollis looked around to see Gibbs offering her a freshly-opened bottle of his favorite drink. He had one for himself in his other hand.

"Sure." she accepted the beverage. "Thanks, and, uh… I see you've chosen the name. I approve."

"Good. I'm actually about to break one of my one Rules, with what I'm about to say next, but it's important."

Hollis arched an eyebrow. "And which _of_ your principles is it?"

"Number Six."

"Ah, yes. That particular number is a pillar."

"Do you remember how it goes?" Gibbs pressed.

"Of course I do. 'Never say you're sorry. It's a sign of weakness.' I'd forgive you for anything, ever, but what are you apologizing for?"

Hollis gave him such a curious, interested look that it was like she was aiming a beam into his very soul. Gibbs was almost so lost in the depths of Hollis' eyes that he almost forgot all else. His brain kicked in at the last second to remind him that the stunner opposite him was yet waiting on an answer.

"I'm sorry that it's been as long as it has been," Gibbs finally said. "And that I never came back for you when you retired. I guess I just wanted you to be happy."

"I _was_ happy, and I've _always_ missed you, but the Cooper brought a joy that I didn't imagine would have ever been possible. I've been my _happiest_ because we're back in each other's lives again, even though it happened in such an unlikely way." Hollis held Gibbs' hand again. "I'm in _orbit_ because you and Cooper get along. This is literally a dream come true."

Hollis then gave Gibbs a resounding kiss. They could have made love right there in the basement, and he wouldn't have cared. All that mattered was that his dreams were also coming true.

This woman was it for him. For good.

Hollis read him like a book when they pulled apart.

"I accept your apology, Leroy. I forgive you." she said firmly. "Let's chalk it all up to life getting in the way, and call tonight a fresh start."

Gibbs nodded. "A fresh start."

They clinked their beer bottles and drank.

Hollis found after that that she wanted to start talking about her options for having another child, but nerves got the best of her and she refrained. Gibbs noticed. They would talk about those options before the night was out.

But now that they'd agreed that they were having a fresh start, Gibbs was even more of the choice he'd come to during their time apart that afternoon. He just hoped that Hollis would be happy.

* * *

Dinner went by in what Hollis felt to be the blink of an eye. She did grow amused when she saw Gibbs rise from the dining hall to start looking around the living room for something that wasn't there.

He lifted an eyebrow. "No overnight bag?"

"It's in the car." Hollis blushed. "I didn't want to seem too forward."

"You will always have a home and a bed here, Holly. I'll go get your bag."

Hollis cleaned up from their meal and then went to wait for Gibbs in the basement again.

Gibbs was taking his time with fetching Hollis' bag. It had been in the front passenger seat, but suddenly, now he was feeling nervous again—the time to start talking about Hollis' options was almost upon them. He seriously needed to keep it together.

He found Hollis humming to herself in the basement as she sanded the boat. She had rid herself of her top to reveal a black tank top that really showcased her curves. This alone caused Gibbs' pulse to start racing.

He wanted so badly to take her against the nearest wall.

But he didn't. Instead, he picked up a sanding block and joined her.

"So, what exactly are these options you've been sitting on?" he asked.

Hollis chuckled. "Straight to the point, huh?"

"You know me—I'm never one to tiptoe around a major subject."

"How true." Hollis turned to face Gibbs. "Cooper is an IVF child, and I got lucky with him because he's the end result of my first attempt."

"That _is_ lucky. Was he born healthy?"

"Very. He was even born on his due date."

"Wow." Gibbs remarked. "Is IVF still on the table?"

Hollis nodded slowly. "I have enough money to try one last time, but there's always a chance I could lose the next one."

Gibbs grew sympathetic. "What's the next choice? Adoption?"

"Yes. That's _more_ expensive, and _more_ time-consuming, but also not out of the realm of possibility." Hollis exhaled shakily. "That's where I am right now."

"Hell of a crossroad."

"You're telling me. I'm open to suggestions."

Gibbs responded by turning Hollis around so she was facing him and her back was to she sea craft.

"What's this?" Hollis asked. "Leroy?"

Now he was holding her gently. "Holly, I love you _so_ much, and I'll even back your play on whatever decision you settle on. I just have one suggestion first."

"I'm all ears."

"What if _we_ tried for a kid first?"

It was a known fact that Gibbs was really good with kids, and those that knew him best knew that he had even been a father, once upon a time. Those in his inner circle even knew what her name had been.

But pigs would have to be flying for him even think about even wanting to be a dad again, especially now that he wasn't exactly spring chicken anymore.

But there were no flying swine or poultry outside, meaning…

That this was love.

He was making this offer because of the love he had for Hollis.

There was a moment's ringing silence at his offer, and then—

"Leroy, really?" Hollis held her hands over her heart and looked more bowled over than she had ever been before. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes, I do. You even declared it first—this is our fresh start, and I already get along with Cooper."

"Do you love him? He worships you, and I want to be a family with you, but not if you don't have any room in your heart for my boy."

"I have all the love in the world for him."

"And not just because I'm his mother?"

"Uh-uh. It's easy to love him, and being family with the two of you plus one more would be perfect." Gibbs explained. "I'd move mountains for you, but I'd still give Cooper the moon _and_ the stars. I'd do the same for anyone who comes after him."

Hollis felt like melting into a puddle as she took in the depth of Gibbs' candor. She knew then and there that these last three _years_ apart had been worth it.

This was the beginning of their happy ending.

"Thank you, Leroy." Hollis kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too. How about we go upstairs?"

Hollis agreed and followed him out of the basement, up to the bedroom.

They were going to make a baby.

* * *

 **Sorry I've been behind: I just started a new job, and now I'm getting over a cold. I wrote this while on NyQuill + sleep deprivation :P**

 **btw, more Abby/Abigail fluff is just around the corner ;)**


	14. Fourteen

Finally, it was bowling night. In keeping with the theme, they were even in matching sock hop outfits. Abigail even wondered if this was the beginning of a future of many more matching costumes.

But she wouldn't mind that.

Abby drove them to the bowling alley, and struck up a conversation as they rode along.

"You nervous about meeting my friends?" she asked Abigail.

"Okay, maybe a little bit," Abigail admitted. "But I was mostly just thinking—I dreamt last night that we were married with kids."

"Go on." Abby prompted.

"We had kids, and they were they were _so_ beautiful. Does is it freak you out that I had that kind of dream?"

"Not at all—we've already made serious plans to be parents, and there's already pets and a house in the mix. It's also not like we only just met last week."

Abigail nodded. "It's been a long while, and we've been attracted to each other this whole time."

"That's a really good point, and a summer wedding would be fun. Maybe something in late August?" Abby mused.

"I like the sound of that. Summer is my favorite season."

"And just so you know," Abby went on. "I would _love_ to be your wife."

Abigail's heart jumped. "Really? Even if it means my parents reacting poorly to the news that we're even together?"

"Even then." Abby affirmed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I promise that my parents will be ecstatic to meet you."

Abigail's relationship with her parents was heartbreaking for anyone to look at. To experience it for herself just about broke her spirit at times. The main reasons for this was their reactions to her leaving home for boarding school, coming out as bisexual, and announced her enlistment. Their behavior towards Bethel was another story. The breaking point was Abigail's parents' response to the death of her fiancé. Instead of comforting her, they'd told her that it was her own fault for having fallen in love with a serviceman. Abigail hadn't spoken to them or been home since.

And her fiancé's parents had passed on from old age not long after the funeral. Abigail helped to bury them, but she'd had return her engagement ring and walk away from that family afterwards. It had all hurt too much.

But now here was Abby, offering her more hope and joy than she'd ever known before.

Christmastime in New Orleans was going to be amazing.

"Thank you, Abby." she finally said. "I really can't wait to meet your parents."

They rode in silence for a few more minutes before Abby spoke again.

"Will you tell me the rest of your dream?" she wanted to know.

"Our kids were twins." Abigail exhaled shakily. "That could even happen to us." two kids were twins."

Abby just nodded. As per her last appointment with the her doctor, she'd learned that because of her age, any kind of multiples were going to be an absolute for her. Abigail knew about this.

"If we get one of each, then," she decided. "Then their middle names will be Beau and Gloria for your parents."

"Okay, but you haven't even met them yet."

"No, but they deserve namesakes for raising _you_ _—_ my Great Love—who brought hope and love back into my life." Abigail returned.

There was definitely a story about why Abigail regarded her parents the way she did, but Abby decided that they would talk about it when they weren't on the way to do something fun.

"Okay, then We'll make sure the kids' middle names will be Beau and Gloria, for my parents."

Relieved, Abigail said, "So the idea of two kids and marriage really doesn't scare you?"

"It really does not. Everything that's happened with the two of us this far, and even the rest that's yet to come, is already the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life." Abby said softly. "The picture that you've been painting just now is all kinds of perfect. We're already paving the road to our happy ending, my love."

"Yes, we are. What do you think our kids are going to be like?"

Abby spun ideas all the way to the bowling alley.

* * *

Canyon Lanes was a locally owned and operated bowling alley. Calling the place popular was an understatement. Abby had been bowling there every week since first moving to town to join NCIS. As for Abigail, she played often, too. The sport always distracted her from the outside world for awhile.

She'd just never been there on a theme night.

And how she'd never encountered Abby or the sisters before, she didn't know.

Canyon Lanes had the layout of every other bowling alley Abigail had been to before, but it looked like they really had been transported back to the Fabulous Fifties tonight. The only elements not there were live music and an actual sock hop. Other than that, every other thing was there to make it feel as though they'd gone back in time. Abigail was left with a sudden desire to binge the _Back To The Future_ trilogy. She did own the whole series…

Abby's 'gaggle of nuns' knew all about Special Agent Abigail Borin because Abby had already been talking about her for two whole years.

And like they did every Saturday night, the sisters had the last two lanes reserved.

"Abby, dear, over here!" one of the sisters called when they were a few feet away.

Abby waved to her friends as she and Abigail drew level with them and set their bowling bags aside.

"Everyone," she looped an arm around her girlfriend's. "This is my Abigail."

For the redhead's benefit, she indicated each of the others in turn.

"Beautiful, here we have Sister Helen, Sister Claire, Sister Mildred, Sister Lois, and Sister Scholastica."

Abigail greeted them, nervous—she'd spent a majority of her school career being taught by nuns. "Hi. It's really wonderful to meet all of you."

They each returned the greeting in kind.

Then Sister Scholastica stood from where she'd been sitting at the score monitor. The way that Abby and the others backed away out of respect told Abigail that she was probably the oldest.

And the leader.

"We don't bite." she said kindly to Abigail. "Did you have nuns for instructors while you were growing up?"

Abigail nodded. "Until high school, and the school's primary language, to this day, is Dutch."

Sister Scholastica found herself deeply impressed. "That's remarkable. I'm sure you have many stories, don't you?"

"I do."

"Fantastic—we want to hear _all_ about them, but more importantly, we want you to just be yourself. Any friend of Abby's is a friend of ours."

After that, Abigail was much more relaxed and ready to have some fun.

This made Abby very happy.

* * *

Abigail had had a feeling that the sisters were going to give her some version of the 'What are your intentions?' talk that night, and she wasn't disappointed.

At one point, left for the restroom, meaning that the sisters were finally alone with Abigail.

"Where did Abby go?" Sister Mildred asked as she returned from playing a frame. "She was just here."

"Abby went to the restroom." Abigail replied. "Is it her turn?"

"Yes, but never mind that now. We want to talk to you."

"I knew this was coming. What do you want to know?"

Sister Helen kicked things off. "Abby's been talking about you for two years."

"Really?" Abigail said in surprise.

She nodded. "Really. Scholastica, Claire, Mildred, Lois, and I have been waiting for this, especially when we realized that Abby was falling in love with you."

"Wow…"

Reaching over, Sister Claire gave Abigail's hand an affectionate pat. "Has Abby told you how she met us?"

"No."

"She was brand new in town from Louisiana, and just about to start at NCIS. We saw her here."

"Abby was the only person bowling alone." chimed in Sister Lois. "She said yes when we invited her to join us, and the rest is history."

"Then if that's that, how did she become part of your league?"

Sister Scholastica wrinkled the bridge of her nose. "She bested me with a high score."

Sister Helen cleared her throat. "Wasn't this chat meant to have a point?"

"Yes. Pardon me." Sister Scholastica cleared her own throat. "How much do you love Abby? We already know about how you offered to let her stay with you."

"I love Abby so much that I would marry her tomorrow, if she wanted that. We're only holding off because we haven't met each other's families yet."

"But you have both been in love with each other, these past years?"

"Very much so." Abigail said firmly. "We even want kids."

"I hope it happens. Are you close with your parents?"

Abigail shook her head. "Not them, or my brothers. We don't talk. It's a long story."

"I'm sorry." Sister Scholastica said politely. "Is there anyone else in your family?"

"My sister, Bethel. She's in her twenties, but she's autistic, and very hard of hearing." Abigail explained. "She only got her first hearing aids about six months ago."

Sister Scholastica just made a humming sound. It was like the wheels in her head were turning about something.

So Abigail tacked on something else. "I did enlist in the Marines to broaden my horizons, but I've always made sure that she has enough to get by. Nobody else in the family will. I hope that Bethel comes to town because I want her to meet Abby."

"It sounds like they would get along very well."

"Yes," agreed Sister Helen. "And thank you for your service."

The others nodded and voiced their own praise to the war veteran in their midst.

Suddenly, Sister Mildred spoke up. "Abigail, have you told Abby that you love her yet?"

"No. I really want to."

Sister Mildred gave her a kind smile. "Then you might want to take that opportunity now."

Refreshed, and laden down with food, Abby joined them. She was taken aback to see six people staring at her.

"What?"

Abigail stood and set the food down so she could take Abby's hands in hers.

This was the moment.

"Abby," she said. "I love you."

Abby immediately felt like she wanted to cry because the pronouncement had both caught her by surprise and left her feeling overjoyed. This wasn't a proposal, but it was was as good as one.

There was only one answer that she could give. And it made her glad.

"Abigail Irene, I love you, too."

They kissed. The rest of the world fell away.

All was well.

All was wonderful.

All was perfect.


	15. Fifteen

The rest of the weekend passed by too fast after that. The moment at the bowling alley had unlocked something. Now Abby and Abigail could just be themselves. They enjoyed this, immensely.

But…

Then Monday night came. It would be back to NCIS and CGIS in the morning.

At least they'd had an appointment with Abby's IVF doctor earlier in the day. Good news had come out of that: Abby had successfully cleared the blood-work and examinations from the previous visit, which meant that she could start the stimulation drugs. She and Abigail were one step closer to a baby already.

Unfortunately, Abby's emotions were already yo-yoing.

"Are you _kidding_ me?!"

"What?" Abigail asked.

"My hearse won't start!"

Abigail's car was up and running in the driveway, but Abby's wasn't. It was as dead as a door nail.

Abby felt like she was going to cry, so Abigail was quick to hurry over to her.

"NCIS and CGIS are both in the Navy Yard, right?"

Abby nodded. "Yeah…"

"So I'll drop you off, or whatever else you need, until the hearse is fixed. How does that sound?"

"Like a good plan. I'm sorry—I don't know what came over me."

"There's nothing to apologize for." Abigail returned kindly. "The doctor _did_ say that some of the side effects of the stimulation drugs include loopy emotions. I've got your back."

"Thank you."

Abby turned the hearse off and shut the door, locking it tight. She even gave the hoof an affectionate pat. Maybe this was a sign that it was finally time to put the old girl to rest.

* * *

As Abby always did whenever she and her friends returned from any prolonged break, she headed to the MCRT bullpen before heading down to the lab. She liked learning of what her friends did when they were away from the office.

"Abby!" chirped Ziva when she saw her. "Did you have a good vacation?"

"I had a _great_ one."

This caught Tony's attention. "Is that so?"

"Yep!"

Her answer had been short and to the point, to annoy Tony on purpose, but she definitely didn't want to talk about her new relationship at work. Not yet. Not without Abigail.

So she was quite pleased with herself when Tony stomped his foot in frustration.

Amused, Ziva continued, "I went to Atlantic City!"

Everyone stared.

"It is very true." she confirmed. "And I was bored."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony protested. "Do you _know_ what I was doing the whole four days?"

"I would rather not hazard a guess, thank you very much."

"Neither would I." said Gibbs as he blew on the top of his coffee cup. "Keep it to yourself."

Defeated, Tony said instead, "What about you boss? Work on a boat?"

Gibbs nodded as he privately remembered making love to Hollis. "Amongst other things."

Abby looked around. "Where are Ducky, Palmer, and McGee?"

"Ducky and Palmer are in the morgue, because death waits for no one." Gibbs told her. "But I spy a McGee now."

Sure enough, McGee was approaching. He even had a full Caff-Pow cup in hand.

"Here you go, Abby." he handed his friend her beverage. "I thought I'd go get this for you."

She smiled at him. "Thanks, McGee. That's really nice."

Abby took the cup and had a drink.

Then she promptly spat it out. What had gone into her mouth was far from the usual cherry flavor that she'd been expecting.

As her company recoiled in surprise, Abby held the drink at bay, exclaiming, "What the biohazardous material is this?"

Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva glared at McGee as one.

He took a step backwards. "It was the pumpkin spice flavor. I thought it would be nice."

"What in the w—" Ziva began, but was the distracted by Abby.

She had grown sad again.

Though incredulous, Tony voiced his partner's thoughts. "Hey, are you _crying?"_

Abby shook her head and rubbed her eyes; the medicine coursing through her system really was messing with her. All because McGee's kind act had backfired. What a banner day.

"No, I am _not_ crying!"

"Yeah, but—"

"Leave her be!" came a voice.

They recognized it as Vance's, and spotted him up on the catwalk. He had been watching scene unfold.

Everyone backed off, and Abby even signed her thanks to him. He nodded in understanding.

The elevator doors opened at this time, but not of them paid attention until—

"You guys, what the hell?"

They turned to see that Abigail had arrived. She had Abby's purse in hand.

And a look of classic exasperation on her face.

"What is going on?" she demanded.

Gibbs arched an eyebrow. "Something we can help you with, Abigail?"

She blushed furiously at him calling her by her full name, so she just spoke to her girlfriend.

"You left this in my car, so I thought I'd come bring it up."

Abigail took the purse from her when she offered it. "Thanks."

Tony cleared his throat, and both Abigails turned to see him, Gibbs, McGee, and Ziva watching him expectantly. Even Vance was observing.

"I'm staying with her because my building is being tented for termites, and—oh, never mind." Abby turned to Abigail this time. "Anything else?"

"Nope. See you at home."

Abby nodded and waved goodbye as Abigail made to leave.

She'd only taken a step before her phone started to ring. The tune was Coldplay's _Paradise._ Hearing it, Abigail halted and spoke to Abby.

"That's Bethel's ringtone. She _hates_ placing calls."

"Then what are you waiting for? Answer her!"

Behind them, Tony whispered to Ziva, "Who's Bethel?"

Mystified, Ziva just shrugged.

Abigail finally answered the call. "Bethel, are you okay?"

She was crying. When she spoke, her voice was shaky and halting, like she was trying keep from losing it.

"I'm really scared. I need you—I lost someone."

"What? Who? Where are you?"

"Georgetown."

Of anything Bethel could have said, to find out that she was very close by hadn't been in the realm of possibility. Abigail responded to this news by dropping her own purse in surprise. She didn't seem to notice because she just kept talking to her sister.

"Can you be more specific?"

"MedStar."

Abigail's heart lifted—Bethel was talking about MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. She knew exactly where this was.

"Okay, baby girl. Can you tell me anything else?"

There was a brief pause, and it sounded as if Bethel was trying to steady herself.

"I'm going to be sick." she said quickly. "I have to go."

"No, Bethie! Don't hang up!"

But Abigail was met by the sound of the other line's dial tone. Hands shaking slightly, she hung up her own phone and put it away as she surveyed the others. Even Abby was regarding her surprise.

She spoke to the CGIS agent with caution. "You know that whole conversation was in Dutch, right?"

"Abigail!" called a voice not in her immediate view line.

She jumped. Looking around, she found that Vance was talking to her this time.

"Long story short—I also understand your first language, and I just understood every word of that call." he conveyed to her. "Do what you have to. We're a call away if you need us."

Abigail also signed her thanks to her friend and then scooped her bag up from where it had landed.

Then without a word to the others, she seized Abby by the wrist, crossed the room, and boarded the lift with her. Now she was really freaked out.

Abby switched the 'STOP ELEVATOR' lever, and it halted immediately. The lights also went down a few levels.

Even at that, she could still see Abigail quaking like a scared puppy.

"Breathe in, breathe out." Abby rested a hand on Abigail's chest. "Breathe in, breathe out. Why was bringing me along your first thought? Where is Bethel?"

Abigail spoke after a pause; the other woman's touch was very gentle. "She's at MedStar Hospital, at Georgetown University."

Abby's heart did an unpleasant loop. "Why?"

"It behooves me to say it, but I don't know"

Abby kept her hand on Abigail's chest. "Then what did Bethel say?"

"That she's really scared. She also said that that she needs me, because apparently, she lost someone." Abigail moved Abby's hand to her bare chest. Her breathing improved even more. "Bethel hears with her hearing devices, but she's more of a texter. She wouldn't make a call unless she needed to."

"So Bethel must really be in a bind, then. Do you think you can be her big sister and show up for her?"

"Yes, but she hung up on me because it sounded like she was going to puke."

Abby shuddered. "That's no good. What else?"

"My sister is a little slow when she speaks, but she signs _very_ fast."

"Okay. Is there is a hitch, or something?"

"Whenever Bethel is under pressure, she regresses, and signing becomes her only form of communication until she snaps out of it." Abigail reported. "My parents have always called it one her 'lesser' qualities."

"Well, that's just mean. How good are your signing abilities?"

"Pretty good, but when Bethel is in the zone, I can't keep up."

Abby connected the dots. "You brought me because you want to me to interpret what Bethel says?"

"Precisely. _I_ need _you."_

"Okay." Abby moved her hand from Abigail's chest and fixed her clothes. "Are you good now?"

Abigail kissed her cheek. "As good as I can be. Thank you."

Abby returned the kiss and restarted the lift. "You'e welcome. Let's go see Bethel."

* * *

They made it to the main lobby of the hospital, and were met by a doctor who approached them quickly.

"Would one of you be Special Agent Abigail Borin, by chance?" she asked.

"I am." Abigail said as she and Abby quickly displayed their credentials. "And this is my colleague, Abigail Sciuto."

"But you can call me Abby." the scientist told her. "I'm from NCIS, and she's from CGIS."

"Naval, _and_ Coast Guard? Impressive." they shook hands. "I'm Doctor Stella Turner. I suppose you're here about Bethel Borin?"

"Yes." Abigail confirmed. "She's my sister, and she just called me—I'm listed as her next of kin. Bethel sounded like she was going to be sick."

"That was a false alarm." Turner told her. "She wasn't sick."

"Thank God. Are assigned to her?"

"I am, yes. I was there when she called you."

"Has she elaborated at all on who she lost?"

Turner shook her head. "No, I'm afraid. She just changed lanes and asked me to come collect you."

Abigail took this in stride. "Okay. Has she started signing yet?"

"Yes, and" replied Turner. "She also took her hearing aids out because she told me that she was feeling overwhelmed. She's been through an ordeal, Special Agent Borin, but she hasn't said what _that_ was. I don't know if she can."

"Well, be careful—she's only had the hearing aids for six months. She regresses when she's feeling stressed out."

"I will take that under advisement. Thank you."

Turner moved on to Abby.

"I love to meet new people. What brings you along today?"

"I'm here to be an interpreter—Abigail said that Bethel signs fast to a speed that she can't keep up with." Abby supplied. "I grew up speaking American Sign Language because I'm a CODA."

Turner almost sounded awed. "A child of deaf adults?"

"Yep! Where is Bethel, please?"

"Upstairs." Turner motioned for them to follow her. "This way, please."

One floor, and a pair of doors marked 'URGENT CARE' later, they'd arrived in the area of the ward where Bethel's room was. What surprised them was who was already there.

 _"Hollis?"_ they cried in unison.

Her surprise matched theirs. "Abby? Abigail? What are you guys doing here?"

Abigail put her hands on her hips. "I could ask you the same thing of you!"

Doctor Turner became bewildered. "What's happening, Hollis?"

"These are dear friends of mine—they found and rescued Cooper." Hollis addressed her comrades once more. "Stella is my best friend. She has twins that are Cooper's age, and she knows about what happened at the arcade."

"I'm Cooper's godmother, too." the doctor added. "We're all friends here."

This eased Abigail's worry only a smidgen. She still didn't know why Bethel had even left Charm, but at least she'd stumbled across people who had sincere vested interest in her.

Hollis interrupted Abigail's thoughts, politely saying, "I'll tell you why I'm here, but what about you?"

Abigail pointed to the window. "Hollis, that woman on the bed is my baby sister, who almost _never_ leaves the family farm in Ohio!"

"And what about the child?"

"Excuse me?"

"Look again, Abigail."

She did.

Bethel had clearly been admitted as a patient because she was in a hospital gown, and was hooked up to wires, monitors, and oxygen. She was also sporting a plastic identification bracelet. Abigail just couldn't see her sister's face because she was turned away.

Having a cuddle with her was a worn-out, half-asleep toddler girl. She was dressed in street clothes and relaxing as Bethel rubbed her back.

Out of nowhere, Abigail had a jolt of recognition. "I know who that kid is—I just haven't met her yet, or know her name!"

"What does that mean?" Hollis asked cautiously.

"Where did you find them?"

"Outside. They were in a serious daze."

"Was there anyone else with them?" Abigail pressed.

"No. It was just Bethel and her companion."

"And there's been zero chatter from the metro PD, or the like?"

"Nothing that I know of." Hollis glanced at Doctor Turner. "Have you heard anything, Stella?"

"I have not. What is this?"

Abigail had an idea, but it was all she could do to not freak out again. "Did Bethel say anything about a third companion? Someone her age?"

"No. Hollis found Bethel and her hitchhiker on a walkway between here, and her building. It's just the next one over." Turner explained. "Hollis coaxed them inside because it's warm."

"Should I call Gibbs?" Hollis wanted to know.

"I'm not sure—maybe." Abigail pointed to the window again. "I saw Bethel awhile back when she came to see me after recovering from a personal matter back home, and she even told me that someone close to her was helping her through everything. She just never said who it was."

"No?"

"No, _but_ the only other person that my sister she keeps as close as she keeps as she keeps is her childhood best friend, Private First Class Zelda Van Dekker."

"Go on."

"She served as a Marine, but she has a purple heart and an honorable discharge to her name."

"For what?" Abby interjected before Hollis could ask.

"The way it goes is that Zelda saved members of her company from certain death in the field in Iraq, but at the expense of contracting an illness that almost killed her _and_ robbed her of her hearing."

Abby's heart lurched. "Oh, man."

Abigail nodded. "Bethel also told me that Zelda has a kid, but she never said anything specific. She has to be here in town."

"Or else in trouble, and that's why Bethel and her hitchhiker are traumatized." Abby murmured. "Should we go in to see her now, Abigail?"

She nodded, but turned to Hollis. "Don't go anywhere—someone is going to want to talk to you today."

Hollis nodded understandingly and parked herself on a chair. "Because I'm a witness."

"Bingo."

"Glad we're on the same page. Abby and I are going to talk to Bethel now."

The room was eerily quiet when they entered, but it was even more eerie knowing that Bethel couldn't hear a peep. She didn't react to her company at all.

But her hitchhiker she saw Abigail, her eyes grew wide with shock.

Like she recognized her.

Abigail watched as the little girl retrieved an iPod on a neck lanyard from Bethel's bedside table. She then found a photo on the device and then looked from it to Abigail again, only for her mouth to drop open in further surprise. She was having some kind of mind-blowing revelation.

"And you really don't know her?" Abby muttered to Abigail. "She seems to know you."

"I seriously don't know her name. Look at her now."

The girl had apparently changed apps on the iPod because she was offering it to Bethel with one hand while using the other to make the sign for speaking. Her attempts kept getting rebuffed.

Frustrated, the girl made a noisy sound to demonstrate her frustration. She even set the iPod aside so she could cross her arms.

"Mummy, look! _Please!"_

She used her hands to physically move Bethel' s head.

When Bethel registered the newcomers, she scrambled to sit up. At least she could lip read.

She motioned for them to come closer, and then tapped her throat. This was followed by a slashing movement.

Abigail arched an eyebrow. "Did you lose your voice already?"

Bethel shook her head.

"Then are you resting it?"

Bethel tapped the tip of her nose. This meant yes.

"Would you like a hug?"

Bethel tapped her nose again.

Abigail sat with her sister and held her close.

"This is my girlfriend, and we have the same name." Abigail told her when they pulled apart. "She's from NCIS."

Hearing those four letters actually made Bethel vomit. She was having her own banner day.

While Abigail and Doctor Turner moved in to help her, Abby spotted Bethel's companion watching her from the doorway. She was very curious.

Abby knelt down a few steps away from her.

"Hi, princess." she said gently.

The little girl opened her mouth to say something, but stopped suddenly. She even glanced at Bethel's room and back at Abby again. Another epiphany was happening.

She finally walked up to Abby. "Are you a friend? Mummy's? Tante Gail's?"

Abby was amused, but kept a very straight face. "I'm friends with Tante Gail. What's your name?"

The little girl didn't answer, instead holding out her arms and speaking with a staggering yawn. "W-we lost mumma."

"Oh, really? Where?"

"S-so sleepy. Hug, please."

She actually fell asleep on her feet from pure exhaustion.

Abby sat with her on a chair, suddenly feeling responsible for the child now.

"Sleep." she whispered to her. "It's okay. I've got you."

The girl heaved a sigh of contentment before sinking into a deep slumber. All of Abby's heartstrings were being tugged and plucked at the same time. This girl was trusting her completely to provide her with safety while she slept.

All over again, Abby felt like she was going to cry.

Stupid hormones.

"I remember those days." came a voice.

Hollis was beside them. Abby hadn't noticed.

"Days?" Abby wiped her eyes and blew out a breath. "What days?"

"Motherhood—even in theory—looks really good on you. I also have a kid of my own."

Now Abby just gave a nervous laugh. "I'm not technically pregnant, but can you keep a secret?"

"I can." came Hollis' prompt answer.

"We want kids, and even before everything that's happened recently, I was in the beginning stages of IVF. _Now_ I'm at the part where I get to stick myself with stimulants. I seem to want to cry if the wind blows or a hat drops." Abby sighed, remembering the driveway already. "What do you think?"

Hollis' heart jumped for joy. If she and Abby ended up pregnant together, their kids could become friends.

"I think that I'm thrilled, and I hope it works. I went through IVF to have Cooper, so I _really_ know how you feel. " she finally said. "Have you had any silly meltdowns yet?"

"My car died, and then McGee gave me a pumpkin spiced Caf-Pow. He was just trying to be nice."

"That's all quite a bummer. Drop me a line if you have any more meltdowns again."

"Okay, Hollis. Thanks."

From her lap, Abby's mysterious companion suddenly began clutching at her shirt as she slept.

"She's got something around her neck." Hollis remarked, looking closer. "I think it's a beaded necklace chai—oh, my…"

The girl was definitely wearing a chain, but Abby felt her heart skip a beat when she realized what was on the other end.

"Hollis, are those…?"

She nodded. "Yep. Those are dog tags."

"What's the name on them?"

"Looks like a 'Van Dekker, Zelda P.' That's the name of Bethel's friend, which means that this kid is _hers."_ Abby realized.

"What makes you so sure?" Hollis inquired.

"I've known Abigail for awhile, and I would have remembered her saying something about a person called Zelda. This kid also looks nothing like Bethel."

Where the second Borin sister was a clone of the first, this little girl was very blonde. She even had blue eyes. The Borins' were hazel.

"Touché." Hollis examined to dog tags again and then groaned. "This is going to be a long case. Didn't our little friend say that they've 'lost' Zelda?"

"She did."

"Great. Now look at the fourth line."

Abby found herself groaning, too. "Get ready for another case with us again, already. CGIS might even make another appearance. NCIS is definitely going to have another field day."

Of course Abby knew the emblem. She saw it all them time.

USMC.

United States Marine Corps.

Could this day get _any_ more dramatic?

This latest development now meant that somewhere out there, they had a missing marine.


	16. Sixteen

It took awhile, but Bethel was eventually empty. Her vomiting was highly usual because she never got sick. As far as Abigail knew, other than being hard of hearing and autistic, her sister was as physically healthy as a horse. (It had to do with growing up on a farm) Something was wrong.

When it looked like Bethel was no longer in danger of expelling the contents of her stomach, Abigail washed her hands and went out into the hallway again.

The others were exactly were she'd left them. Abby was looking lost in thought about something, and in the next chair over, Hollis was just staring into space. Their tiny companion remained fast asleep.

Abigail put her hands on her hips. "What's the matter with you two?"

Abby went first. "Have you figured out the name of our little friend, here?"

"I haven't. _Zelda_ was most definitely part of the Marines, however, and this little girl is also hers."

"I can back you on that last play." Abigail told her. "The girl also looks more like Zelda."

"Alright—how long have you known her?"

"Since she was three." Abigail caught sight of Abby's companion's jewelry. "Those are dog tags, aren't they?"

This time, Abby nodded. "The information on them is what led us to realizing that Zelda is a veteran. We also discovered that they seem to have _literally_ lost her."

Abigail grew perplexed. _"Excuse_ me?"

"Your guess is as good as mine right now. It was also the last word I got out of our little friend, here."

"Why? What happened after that?"

"The poor thing asked me for a hug and then fell asleep on her feet."

Abigail stifled a groan. Absolutely nobody in her family could do anything small, even if the intentions were actually good.

"Then that means if they travelled from where I think they did, they must have been en route all night. I don't think the little miss has ever been so tired in her life." Abigail helped the duo up. "Let's try talking to Bethel again."

Abby agreed to this and then regarded Hollis. She hadn't even moved. The far-off look in her eyes showed that she was more lost in thought than ever.

Abby called her name gently. "Hollis?"

She looked around. "Sorry, what?"

"Are you okay?" Abby asked with sincerity.

"I'm good, Abby. Really." (In truth, she'd been daydreaming about life with her love) "Shall I call Jethro now, to apprise him of the situation?"

"Yes. Tell him to send Ziva, and come see us when you're done. You should officially meet my sister."

"Alright." Hollis agreed. "See you in a minute."

When Abby and Abigail entered the room again, Bethel was definitely more sociable. She was yet refusing her hearing devices, but she was making up for that by using an app on her iPod to communicate with Doctor Turner. Their conversation was both silent and lively at the same time.

When Bethel saw her pint-sized companion, she lit up, set her iPod aside, and held her arms out.

She cried in relief when she was finally holding the little one. The child's presence was an anchor.

Abby sat with her, speaking and signing a question. "Will you tell me who this is, Bethel?"

Signing at a lightning-fast speed, she gave an answer that was more than just a name.

Abby provided the translation to the others just as fast. "Bethel said that her name is Hennie. She's a little shy of turning three."

"And I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Bethel also said that Zelda is Hennie's biological mother?"

"That's exactly what she said. She followed that with a line about how she promises to give you the whole story before the end of the day."

"I'll take that win. Will you please ask Bethel why the mention of NCIS made her so ill?"

Abby relayed this question, receiving in return a very blunt reply.

"This time," Abby told Abigail. "She's really putting her foot down about telling anyone anything that we want to know."

Abigail made an exasperated huffing sound and traded places with Abby. She had to get to the bottom of Bethel's evasiveness.

Knowing her own sister like she did, Bethel immediately averted her eyes. She already couldn't hear, but if she wouldn't be able to read Abigail's lips. Playing an actual game of Hard To Get was her safest option.

But Abigail wasn't having it.

She lifted Bethel's chin so that they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Focus on me." Abigail told her sister, taking care to enunciate her words clearly. "Will you?"

Bethel hesitated and then tapped her nose.

"Good answer." Abigail dropped her hold on Bethel's chin. "Do you know what's happened to Zelda?"

Tap.

"Will you tell us all that's happened if you're cleared to leave here?"

Tap.

"Is it to do with why you vomited?"

Tap.

Something suddenly clicked in Abigail's brain and she held Bethel's face in her hands. "Is it because of what happened over the summer?"

Tap.

Abigail's heart lurched and she hugged Bethel. They were going to have a lot of explaining to do later on.

"I am profoundly sorry, Bethel. Is there anything else we should know?"

Bethel found her iPod and programmed something into her speech app. The observers realized that she was engaging Abigail in a conversation when they began passing the device back and forth.

Bethel went first. _Zelda is pregnant. 3 weeks._

Abigail read and responded very quickly. _We'll talk about that later, but I'll make sure the others know._

Bethel sighed. _Fine. We left Ohio to come talk to you. We didn't know what else to do._

 _Are you in trouble?_

 _Zelda, not me. This is about a sailor & a serviceman. _

Abigail clicked her tongue. This was going to be a _really_ long day. When she finally handed the iPod back on it, the words of the new message had been carefully thought out.

 _You realize what this means, Bethie?_

 _CGIS & NCIS are joining forces?_

 _Gold star._

Bethel read this last line, but held on to the iPod. There was one last thing she was mulling over.

"Is it important?" Abigail wanted to know.

Bethel tapped her nose as she willed herself to not bottom out in panic. She had no idea how Abigail was going to take the rest of her news.

After an eternity of a half-minute, Bethel typed out a message to her big sister.

Abigail's heart did a loop of surprise when she read Bethel's next message.

 _I'm pregnant, too. It happened in August. I also have a new piece of hardware._

Abigail set the iPod down and just gaped at Bethel.

She'd been assaulted six weeks prior, and now this. There was even _more_ explaining to do.

As for the new 'piece of hardware,' _that_ could only mean one thing.

"Bethel Grace, you better show me that hand."

Bethel read Abigail's lips and obeyed her sister's demand. Plain as day, she was displaying a shiny new diamond ring.

"Zelda is your fiancée?" Abigail pressed.

Bethel shook her head and finally spoke aloud. Her voice was a little croaky, but her message was clear.

"No, Zelda is not my fiancée. She is my _wife."_

* * *

Hollis allowed her thoughts to drift. Just as she'd been remembering back to making love to Gibbs, she had also been envisioning next Christmas. It would be her, Gibbs, Cooper, and hopefully, their precious longed-for baby girl. They would all be a family together. Everything was going to be perfect.

A happily ever after.

But remembering that her friends in the next room were depending on her, Hollis pulled put her phone and called Gibbs' number.

He picked up quickly. "Hey, Hols. Miss me?"

"Always." she said softly. "I'm actually calling because I'm a witness to a new case—it's another doozy with NCIS and CGIS."

On the other end of the line, Gibbs halted in his stroll through the bullpen to stand at the big picture window overlooking the water. It was the only spot of privacy in such a noisy room. He was also above standing in the blindspot by the stairs.

"Oh, boy." Gibbs ran his fingers through his hair. "You've already encountered Borin, haven't you? She showed up here a little bit ago to bring something to Abby. Then they _both_ lit out of here, like bats out hell. This was _after_ Borin received a call from a woman by the name of Bethel."

"She's Abigail's younger sister." Hollis replied without preamble.

"I didn't know she had any family here."

"Abigail doesn't. The rest of the Borin clan is in Ohio."

Even over the phone, Gibbs could tell that Hollis hadn't told him everything. "What else is there?"

"Bethel has her own family, and from what I've pieced together, it looks like they had to leave home at the last minute last night. _Flee_ is the word that comes to mind. I must have encountered them before they reached their journey's end."

"A full explanation, if you please, Hols."

She told Gibbs everything she knew.

"And Abby asked for Ziva?" said Gibbs when Hollis finished.

She nodded. "That's right."

"Then I'll tell her where she needs to be; DiNozzo, McGee, and I are about to go to a crime scene. Looks like I'll be seeing you later. Good luck."

"Same to you."

They both hung up.

Hollis entered Bethel's room just in time to hear Bethel speak, and to witness the ringing silence immediately following. It was the loudest silence she'd ever heard before.

Hollis cleared her throat, and Abigail waved her in, saying, "I take it that you've called Gibbs?"

"I have, and I brought him up to speed, but I'm sure that there have some been some new developments—besides learning that your sister is a Van Dekker now?"

"Have they ever…" Abby murmured.

Abigail beckoned Hollis closer. "Come say hello to Bethel. She still has her hearing devices out, but she signs and lip reads."

"Got it."

Hollis traded places with Abigail. Bethel responded to this by sitting up even straighter—this was the person who had rescued them.

Still unsure if her voice, she said, "Hello. Thank you for finding us. We got turned around."

"You're welcome, and I'm glad I could help." Hollis gave her warm smile. "Who's this with you?"

"My girl, Hennie. This one," Bethel pointed to her middle. "Doesn't have a name yet."

Her bottom lip wobbled as she remembered the full gravity of her situation. She wanted to cry, but right now, she had to keep it together.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Hollis."

Bethel gave a shaky exhale. "Hollis, we can't find my wife, Zelda. She was taken."

"By whom?"

"No idea. Do you work with NCIS or CGIS?"

"Neither—I'm a retired lieutenant colonel."

"Wow." Bethel marveled.

Hollis continued to speak to her in a motherly tone even though Bethel couldn't hear her. "But Doctor Turner, and Abigail and Abby are friends of mine."

"They _are?"_

Hollis bobbed her head, and then looked to Turner. "Is she good to go?"

Turner examined her clipboard of notes and then addressed her patient. "We can discharge you as soon as you have one last check-up."

"Okay, but I want my sister to stay." Bethel decided.

Abigail was pleased by this.

She then watched as Bethel moved on to address her girlfriend. "Will you take Hennie again, please?"

"Sure." Abby plucked the little girl back up and held her close. "I've got her. Come on, Hollis."

They vacated the room to leave the Borins be, and returned to the row of chairs in the hallway. It was going to be a bit of a wait.

Hennie remained fast asleep, but after a beat, Hollis voiced a new train of thought to Abby.

"I'm in over my head again, aren't I?" she said warily.

"Yep." Abby confirmed.

"And my life will never be quiet again, will it?"

"Nope."

Hollis' tone was one of resignation and then acceptance. "Then it is what it is. At least I'm with people I love—that, I wouldn't trade for _anything."_

"Neither would I." Abby agreed.

And from there, the two friends just wiled away the time until Ziva arrived.


	17. Seventeen

Bethel had been officially discharged by the time Ziva made it to the hospital. She was even back in her own clothes and wearing her hearing aids again. All she wanted was to sleep her woes away because she was bone-tired, but this was not the time for that. Sleep would come later.

What was important was getting out of the hospital. She hated all hospitals.

Leaving _this_ one was at the top of her agenda.

As for Abby and Hollis, they were just waiting for Bethel to come out of her suite.

Ziva found them and Hennie first.

* * *

"Hey." she greeted them. "Is Bethel in the room behind you, then?"

"Yes." Abby stood, Hollis following suit beside her. "She should be ready in a minute."

Ziva surveyed them. "And I see that she has a child. What is the little one's name?"

"She's called Hennie. Right now, she's exhausted, so we've been letting her sleep."

"I understand. Is there anything else that I should know right now?"

Hollis chose her words carefully. "Bethel blindsided Abigail with a piece of information just now."

"And what was it?"

"She is married to a young woman from their hometown, by the name of Private First Class Zelda Van Dekker."

Ziva arched one eyebrow in surprise. "Where did she serve?"

"Iraq. She has a Purple Heart, and an honorable discharge."

"What happened to her over there? Is she the one gone right now?"

"You'll have to ask Bethel what happened." said Hollis in a serious tone. "Zelda is the one gone, yes, but at the moment, Bethel needs a lot of patience."

"I can give her that." Ziva promised. "She has a lot on her plate."

Hollis bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. "More than most people. Our new friend is high-functioning, well out of her comfort zone, probably on the verge of exhaustion, and has a toddler to mind. She also happens to be in the family way. Zelda, too."

"Then I will take it easy on Bethel and Hennie, and look after them when we return to NCIS."

Abby spoke again. "They came all the way from Ohio, Ziva, and it sounds like they had to go at the last minute. Someone has to make sure they have a place to sleep tonight."

"I am sure that we will think of something."

No sooner had the words escaped from Ziva's mouth than Abigail and Bethel emerged from Bethel's room. Doctor Turner brought up the rear.

Bethel approached Ziva first. "What's your name?"

"I am called Ziva." they shook hands. "I am good friends with your sister, Abby, and Hollis. I would also love to be _your_ friend."

Bethel breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll take your friendship. We need all the friends we can get right now, and we haven't many, as it is. Are we going to find Zelda?"

"We are going to do everything we can to make sure that she is brought back to you and your daughter."

"Thank you. Do you work with my sister?"

Ziva shook her head. "I work across the yard, at NCIS, which is where we are off to now—Abby sent for me to ensure that everybody gets a lift."

"I'm glad for that. We need a change of scenery." Bethel glanced at a nearby wall clock. "Is it time to go?"

"Yes, and… oh, dear."

Ziva had caught sight of Abby and Abigail to see that they had both taken a few steps back from the group. Something had happened. Abby even had her phone in one hand.

"Is there something wrong?" Ziva wanted to know.

"That would be a matter of opinion." Abby told her. "We—that is to say Abigail and I—have _both_ been called away."

"That is a first."

Abby nodded. "Our friends will take great care of you."

"I have no doubt. Go."

Abigail chimed in, "You sure, Bethie?"

"Yes. Go be a crime fighter." Bethel said firmly, even taking Hennie back from Abby. "Go."

Reassured, Abigail hugged her sister and left for the elevators. They left very quickly.

Bethel waited until the pair were just out of sight to lower herself into the closest wheelchair. "My legs have turned to jelly, and Hennie is heavy. Which way to the car?"

They all turned to Ziva for an answer.

"I am parked just out front." she motioned for them to follow her. "It is not far."

* * *

Director Vance and Ziva were the only ones left at NCIS to hold the fort down, as Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, and even Abby and Abigail were all in the field together.

"Do you understand the plan?" Vance was telling Ziva.

She nodded. "You will talk to Hollis while I have a chat with Bethel. We will reconvene in your office when we are done. What am I to do after _that?"_

Vance realized which bush Ziva was beating around. "You mean, do I want you to go out into to the field to join the rest of our people?"

"Yes." she admitted.

"I don't think leaving will be necessary. They should be back before long."

"Alright, director. I will go now."

Vance gave a nod of approval and headed to the conference room where Hollis was.

Armed with her notepad and a pen, Ziva departed the catwalk for the lounge, one floor below.

Bethel was on the lounge couch. Hennie was curled up next to her, draped in warm blankets and in a very deep slumber. Beside the couch, Ziva spotted their traveling luggage. How Bethel had managed to hang on to it in all this mess was bound to be an interesting story. Ziva made a mental note to coax the information out.

She pulled up a chair to the couch and sat down.

"How are you?" she asked Bethel.

Bethel spoke slowly, with a small impediment, but Ziva soon grew to understand her.

"I'm scared out of my mind and _so_ tired, but I haven't gone postal yet because I trust my sister and the rest of you to get to the bottom of this. What do I do now, Ziva?"

"We just talk." Ziva told her. "I understand that you have a few issues going on?"

"What all do you know?"

"About your differences, and that you are expecting. Your speaking abilities are quite remarkable for someone who grew up in silence."

"That is thanks to Abigail and Zelda. Had it been up to my parents, they would have just let me be, without any guidance. Abigail intervened on my behalf."

"How so?"

Bethel paused. "How does this help find my wife?"

"It always helps to learn about the people we are looking for." Ziva soothed. "We like to get background information. Keep going."

Bethel searched her train of thought so she could get back on track. "My sister made sure I got into the right kinds to therapies and things, and she even taught me to sign. I picked up lip-reading on my own."

With each passing moment, Ziva found Bethel fascinating. "Why did your parents not help?"

"I'll talk about anything but their 'help' in my life."

Realizing that the elder Borins were a sore subject, Ziva said gently, "Then tell me how Zelda has made a difference."

Though still sad, a small bit of warmth could be heard in Bethel's reply. "She moved to town from New York when we were four, and we met on the first day of nursery school. Now I _really_ don't remember life without her. When Zelda realized that I couldn't hear, she acted as my ears."

"That is really sweet."

Bethel nodded. "We were always in the same classes every year so Zelda acted as my ears all the way through nursery school, primary school, middle school, and high school. All the way until..."

"Iraq?" Ziva guessed.

Bethel nodded once more and rubbed her eyes. She really had to prepare herself.

It was another few moments before she began again.

"Zelda's tank was hit on her first mission, causing it to overturn. She and two people inside lived because she got them out to safety, but the cost was terrible—she developed a terrible ear infection in the field hospital. Her hearing was completely gone by the time she returned home. Now, she's more deaf than I am."

"That is incredible that she survived, and I will thank her for her service when we bring her back." Ziva motioned to the iPod, now off Bethel's neck and in one hand. _"You_ still communicate."

Bethel waved her device. "This can be easier when I forget what I'm trying to say. Zelda can speak, but it makes her feel bad that she can't hear herself anymore, so her preferred communication method is a form of Sign Language that we half-invented when we were kids."

"Oh, really?"

Bethel just nodded and tapped her nose in reply.

Ziva was now dying to ask why Zelda had chosen to become a mother when she had such a severe disability, but she refrained from asking, and yet again redirected her own thoughts. She motioned to Bethel's diamond ring.

"That is quite lovely." she complimented. "When was the wedding?"

"It was meant to have been in the springtime next year. Zelda was even going to propose to me on Christmas." Bethel rubbed her eyes, trying to stave off tears. "We knew—even before Iraq—that we wanted marriage, kids, a nice place, and just a good and proper life outside of our stupidly-small home town. It always made for good motivation during Zelda's physical therapy sessions."

Bethel paused to steady herself again. They'd arrived at the heart of the matter.

"A soldier from a tour company near Zelda's happened to perform an act of heroism in a dire situation around the same time, but was passed over for the award. He didn't take this well."

"Why? Because his direct competition was a woman on her first tour?"

"Yes. He even told her that he'd make sure she'd pay—just like in the movies. Do you get what I mean?"

Ziva nodded. "Yes, I understand. Has this man kept his word?"

"Yes, but he didn't act immediately because near as we can figure, he did another tour or two. This was around the time that Zelda was in rehab."

Now Ziva was thinking about how this case was echoing the one they'd just had. How she longed for a case that was run-of-the-mill.

"Is this man the father of the children that you and Zelda have?" she asked gently.

"No, but that's because we took matters into our own hands for two of them. We moved on. We had Hennie, and a life together." Bethel ran one hand through her hair. "Things were good."

"Then what?"

Bethel squirmed nervously. _"He_ showed up, out of nowhere in the summertime."

"Are you talking about the scorned comrade?"

Bethel shook her head. "Worse. His _partner."_

Now we are truly getting somewhere, thought Ziva. "Is he also USMC?"

"No. Coast Guard. This is the man who jumped me, and got me pregnant." Bethel squashed the bubbling anger she felt rising up. "It happened when we were in the city one day. He was even caught and sent to jail, but now he's out."

Ziva felt her own burst of anger. "Someone as bad as that does not deserve to be free. Did he get out on bail?"

"We're pretty sure that the jackal had outside help. We saw him and Zelda's comrade in the city just this past Thursday."

"Excuse me?" Ziva said blankly.

"We saw them again." Bethel repeated. "We even went to the police about it."

"Were they any help?"

" _No."_ Bethel said in disgust. "They actually told Zelda and I to our faces that without any concrete proof, their hands are tied. We decided after that that enough is enough."

"What did you do?"

Bethel sat back. "Even before Zelda went to war, we always knew that we'd get married one day. It was never a question. We were just waiting until we could get out of Ohio first."

"That is understandable." Ziva sympathized.

"For the sake of the family we had created, we chose to do a courthouse wedding. It was all we could afford, and we wanted to be safely intact."

"Also understandable."

"We found a very sympathetic judge that day who recognized just how much of an emergency we were in, and she officiated the ceremony for free. She also made sure that all of the paperwork was processed and filed immediately. Even the marriage certificate."

Bethel absently ran a thumb on the underside of her wedding ring.

"After that, there was just enough time to go home, pack some things, grab this ring, and hit the road. We've been looking over our shoulders ever since."

If anything, Ziva was now feeling pity that Bethel had led such a stressful existence. "How did your parents react?"

This time, Bethel sneered. "They are very homophobic to begin with. They spoke to me for the first time in years to tell me that I am to never set foot on their farm again, unless it's to pack my things up for good. That suits me just fine."

 _"Why_ are they so awful to you?"

"That's a question for Abigail."

"Alright. Then what of Zelda's parents? You have not mentioned them yet."

"Well, that's because she's an orphan. Even the caretaker she had when she moved to town passed away last year from old age." Bethel kept running a thumb on the ring. "This even belonged to her mother, and it's one of the only things of hers that she had. Zelda wanted me to have to have it because we're married now..."

As she said these last few words, a huge yawn escaped her mouth.

"Pardon me." Bethel apologized. "I'm just _so_ exhausted, but this worry has me completely wired."

"I imagine so. I have to more questions now."

"Fire away."

"How did you get to the hospital with Hennie _and_ your luggage?"

Bethel shrugged. "Zelda was nabbed when we weren't looking because they weren't interested in Hennie and I. We were untouched. Our things, too."

"Then did you ask anyone for help?"

"A security guard. I couldn't think of what to say because the words wouldn't come, so he go mad and called me a bad name."

Ziva suddenly found herself making a promise to track the guard down, herself. "I am sorry that that happened, but I am _pleased_ that you have warmed up enough now to tell me your whole version of events."

Bethel offered her friend the smallest of smiles. "You're easy to talk to."

"Thank you." Ziva gave Bethel's hand an affectionate pat. "My other question is, how did you decide to go to the hospital? That was very smart."

"Abigail always told me no matter where I was, I should go to the Navy Yard or to MedStar Hospital and wait for her if I was in trouble. She said that those are safe places."

"Abigail is correct about that. I imagine that you were disoriented by the time you arrived at the hospital?"

"Mhm." Bethel confirmed. "I didn't realize until after the car had gone that I had no idea where to go, but Hollis found us about two minutes later."

"She has a funny habit of appearing out of nowhere, actually. Do you remember the name of the security guard?"

Bethel tapped her nose. "Is this the part where I also tell you the names of the men who have been bothering my family?"

Ziva held out a pen and notepad she'd brought in with her. "If you please, my friend."

Bethel flipped to a fresh page and wrote down all that she could remember. Ziva was impressed against her will when she read the information because it looked like the younger woman had a photographic memory. Her notes were formatted in a short, but very detailed list.

 _Staff Sergeant Oliver Caplan — Marines_

 _Lieutenant Noah Forsythe — Coast Guard_

 _K. Watson — train security_

Bethel spoke softly; she could feel her voice going. "Those are the people who hurt us. The Doubting Thomas from the train station is also on there."

Wondering what a Doubting Thomas could be, Ziva rose from her chair. "Thank you very much for talking with me, Bethel—we have covered everything. Would you like anything right now?"

"Do you sign?"

"I am afraid that I do not. Is your voice getting tired?"

Bethel tapped her nose. She didn't even have the energy to use her iPod—an adrenaline crash was coming. It was _really_ time to slow down.

"Then are you hungry?" asked Ziva.

Tap.

Ziva understood by now that this meant yes. "Then I will send along some food for you and Hennie soon."

Bethel mouthed her thanks.

"You are most welcome, dear friend. Just rest—you and Hennie are safe."

Bethel offered Ziva another small smile.

Taking this as a good sign, Ziva left to see what she could do about making sure the Van Dekkers had food. And to report to Director Vance.

All the while, she wondered if she would be responsible for her actions if any of the rest of the Borins showed up. Hearing how they treated their daughters made Ziva angry. She would step up be the good sister that Abigail and Bethel both so desperately needed. They deserved it.

Ziva also wondered what Abby and Abigail could have both been called to investigate.

Hopefully, it would lead to more clues about where Zelda was.

Hopefully, she was unhurt.


	18. Eighteen

Private First Class Zelda Pearl Van Dekker was a true survivor. She had been, since she was a toddler. That's just the way things were.

She couldn't even remember her parents, Rasmus and Moira, because they had both died before she was four. Zelda didn't even have living memories of them anymore. Not long after officially being declared an orphan, she was moved from New York City to the small _community_ of Charm, Ohio. She was raised there by her grandmother. Her only real comfort was that a lot of people around her were fluent in her first language—Dutch. This helped as she got over the culture shock and adjusted to her new home.

Six months later, Zelda met Bethel Grace Borin for the first time.

* * *

Enlistment was on Zelda's eighteenth birthday.

While serving, she'd seen all kinds of rough terrain while fighting the enemy. Zelda's most recognized achievement was miraculously surviving the attack on her tank and still managing to rescue two of her fellow comrades from it. Even if it had permanently cost her her hearing. Still, she had yet again survived all odds. It was her specialty.

Now, for the first time ever, Zelda felt like her perseverance was being tested.

It was about the trouble with Staff Sergeant Oliver Caplan, and his idiot lackey, Lieutenant Noah Forsythe. How Zelda just wanted both of them out of her life.

They were only annoying at first. Zelda hadn't forgotten about Oliver's threat, but she still only saw him as a thorn in her side. And who wanted that? But then the _lieutenant_ had assaulted Bethel. _That_ crossed the line.

Finding safety and help were Zelda's main concerns. She had a family to think about.

Zelda just hadn't banked on anything along the lines of kidnapping.

However...

Zelda would be damned if she was going to let captivity hold her back.

* * *

The first thing that Zelda noticed about her prison was that it was a dilapidated apartment building. It had also been a warehouse in a previous life. Where there were warehouses, there were always exits, in some shape or form. Zelda was bound and determined to find one.

She was also well on her guard.

Oliver and Noah were up to something. The question was—what was it?

Zelda also had no way of knowing that she was alone in the building. Oliver and Noah had left her.

She also had no way of knowing that both of them would be dead by the time she finally found a way out.

* * *

"Abigail, are you mad?"

"Hm? What?"

Abby and Abigail had since left MedStar Hospital for the crime scene, but it was a was a small journey away. At least they enjoyed each other's company.

Today, however, Abby was feeling jumpy.

So she repeated her question as she drove the car. "Are you mad?"

Abigail shook her head. "Not at Bethel or Zelda."

 _"But…?"_

"I'm feeling mad that they've both been hurt, and that they felt like fleeing Ohio was the answer." Abigail heaved a dramatic sigh as another thought hit her. "This means I'm going to have to call my parents. Be prepared for a lot of Dutch swearing."

"I consider myself warned, and I'll have drinks on standby."

Abigail cracked a ghost of a smile. "Thank you, Starshine."

Abby bobbed her head in acknowledgement as she kept her eyes on the road. "Can I ask you something else? Before we get there?"

"Go for it."

"Why do your parents treat Bethel the way that they do?"

Abigail made a humming sound as she gathered her thoughts. She had planned on telling Abby these things eventually, but she'd just envisioned it being at home, over drinks and food, with pets to cuddle. This was going to be fun.

"Bethel was born in the summer of 1987. Hottest August on record—hottest day, too. But that was also the summer of the worst drought in a hundred years."

"This already sounds like a movie set up." Abby remarked.

"My parents didn't know until Bethel was born that she is deaf, but throughout my mother's whole pregnancy, the farm crops began withering away. Some of the farm animals even starved to death." Abigail exhaled shakily. "The winter was the absolute worst for my parents—nothing had grown in a long while, and the fields froze over early. They also had a severely impaired baby to care for."

"And after four healthy children, they probably had no idea how to cope. Things were different back then."

"At least they didn't send her to a home—but I would have raised Bethel myself if it had come to that." Abigail's heart flipped as she thought of what could have been. "My parents were still pretty freaked out."

Abby thought of her own parents, both completely deaf as posts, and how they had still managed to raise two hearing children. That was their own achievement.

"Did your parents blame Bethel for the drought, and the winter's desolation?"

"More like they blamed her differences. They and my brothers consider her a blight."

Abby's heart lurched at these words. "That's just so mean."

Abigail plowed on. "It was bad enough that my parents denied it when the doctor told them that Bethel's issues were caused by a gene they both carry, but the autism diagnosis don't come until she was almost eighteen."

"Wow."

"They turned their backs on me when I went to war, that's for sure, but they did the same thing to Bethel."

"But because she's wired differently."

Abigail did her best not cry. "In their eyes, she's a blight, but they see her actual differences as a curse from God. Are your parents churchgoers?"

"Yep. They go every Sunday." Abby replied. "What about your parents?"

"Every Sunday. They also go on Wednesday nights for Bible study." Abigail confirmed. "At least they have friends. Kind of."

"And what is _that_ Abigailese for?"

"My parents keep close the kind of people that don't generally welcome outsiders. Bethel and I have never been able to figure it it out."

Abby finally laughed. "Are you saying that your parents' closest friends are members of the local Amish population?"

"Yes. There's also a kicker: like the Amish, my parents and my brothers all practice pacifism."

A light clicked on in Abby's head. "Which is the reason that they reacted how they did when you announced your enlistment. Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Because it didn't surprise _me._ My parents would rather praise my brothers for picking up the family trade, rather than let go of their convictions and apologize to Bethel or me."

These words broke Abby's heart. The next minute, she found herself making a mental note to start pricing train tickets to New Orleans before bed. It was time to get serious about making sure that she, Abigail, Bethel, Zelda, and Hennie had the best Christmas ever. All of them had their own reasons for needing a getaway.

And October was a perfectly good time to start planning for a winter trip.

"I'm sorry that they treat you and Bethel so badly." Abby finally said.

Abigail shrugged. "I wish I could also be sorry, but I'm just glad I realized early on that my parents are never going to change. I had a trust fund set up for Bethel by her first birthday because of that epiphany."

Abby finally stopped the car and parked it. They had arrived at the crime scene.

It was just off a stretch of land at a back road, and in the warmer months, was a rest stop. There was even a park nearby.

But still, Abby turned off the car ignition and pocketed the keys.

"You are a wonderful big sister, and Bethel is lucky that out of everyone in the universe, _you_ are the sister she has. Nobody else loves her like you do. Nobody else ever will. I haven't even met her yet, and I already know that the bond between you two extremely magical." Abby kissed her girlfriend. "You're going to be a fantastic mother when our babies come _because_ of the love you have for Bethel."

Abigail's heart lifted. "Thank you, Starshine. That makes me feel a lot better."

"You're welcome, treasure." Abby kissed her again. "Now let's go do like Bethel said, and be crime fighters."

Gibbs, McGee, and Tony were spotted first. They were having a powwow of sorts. Ducky and Palmer were some feet away, doing their job. Abigail's people and CSU took up the rest of the scene, processing and cataloguing evidence as they went. Things were very busy.

Abby spoke up they reached the MCRT. "You guys, what's going on? Why were both of us requested?"

"We have two dead bodies," Tony began. "And one of them is definitely Coast Guard, but the other…"

"Yes?"

"Abs, he had your _full name_ on a piece of paper—Jimmy found it in the guy's jacket pocket. The NCIS acronym was written underneath it."

Abby's heart took an express elevator to the floor as unwanted memories began flashing before her eyes. She knew immediately who this was, and it hadn't even been confirmed. Yet. Why did her world have to be so damn small?

She called over to the mortuary duo, "Does the man _not_ in the Coast Guard uniform have a Nirvana tattoo on the inside of his right wrist?"

Palmer checked.

He called back, "He sure does, Abby, but that was _really_ specific! How did you know?"

But Abby didn't answer him.

Instead, her heart took a ride from where it hand landed on the ground, and up through her stomach, chest, and throat. This was not happening.

Gibbs, Tony, and McGee immediately retreated away. They were concerned that their friend was going to vomit. Only Abigail was brave enough to squat beside Abby.

She spoke to her in an undertone. "That's _him_ over there, isn't it?"

Abby nodded. "Yes, but—oh, no…"

Abandoning all conversation, Abby made haste for the nearest bush, finally throwing up. Everyone but Abigail stared in surprise.

Gibbs restored order by barking at his and Abigail's people to get back to work. They fell into place immediately.

Abigail went to help Abby.

"It's okay, babe." she rubbed Abby's back. "You've had quite a shock. Just get it out."

'Shock' was definitely the word that Abigail was feeling.

She and Oliver hadn't seen each other in almost twenty years. They had also parted on terrible terms—he had stormed off, leaving Abby to weep as she recovered from her miscarriage in a hospital bed.

Oliver never even looked back. Not even when Abby threw her engagement ring at him.

After that, she spent her time getting over Oliver while also grieving for her lost babies. They had only known about them for a month before they were gone. In the end, Abby put Oliver out her mind, never to even talk about him again. It was for the best.

"Help me, Abigail."

These were Abby's first words when she had finally stopped spewing her guts.

"Okay. I've got you."

Abigail eased Abby on to the ground and knelt in front of her again.

"I'm going to care of you when we get home. That's a promise." Abigail produced a pack of tissues from a pocket of her CGIS windbreaker and pressed them into one of Abby's hands. "Do you think you can make it through the rest of the day?"

Abby gave a tentative nod as she cleaned herself up. "I'll do my best. Thanks."

"And sometimes trying is the best you can do. I love you." Abigail gave Abby a pat on the shoulder. "I'm going to go check on my team, and send Gibbs your way. Do you need anything?"

"Maybe just some water, please."

Nodding, Abigail got to her feet and surveyed the scene. Her current team roster was mostly probies, and though they respected her, they each also viewed her with a dose of healthy fear. She was like Gibbs that way. Sometimes, her team even scattered when she looked in their direction. It was amusing. To her.

Abigail pounced on the first person she saw. "Hey, Foster! Front and center!"

He hurried over, feeling akin to a gazelle at a watering hole.

"Yes, boss?" he said in a dutiful tone.

"Go over to the NCIS van and see if you can get a water bottle for Abby, alright?"

"Okay."

But Foster didn't move; it felt like his feet had suddenly turned to lead. Going towards the NCIS truck would mean bumping into Gibbs. He scared her more than Abigail did.

"Foster?"

He turned slightly timid. "Yes, boss?"

 _"NOW!"_

Properly motivated, Foster scuttled off again. Abigail followed him.

Before long, however, Gibbs was kneeling in front of Abby. He spoke to her in a fatherly tone.

"Are you okay?"

She answered him truthfully. "Now at the moment, but I will be."

"Good. Abs, who was this guy to you?"

The probationary agent called Foster made his way back to Abby before she answered. Accepting the water bottle and promising him that he could go back to his fieldwork, he was gone as quickly as he'd come. Gibbs waited patiently as Abby cleaned herself up a little more.

She still answered haltingly. "Another lifetime ago, he was my fiancé… and the father of my children."

There weren't many things in life that could truly jar Leroy Jethro Gibbs anymore, but this last piece of information was definitely one of them.

"You have kids? You're a mom?"

"I _had_ kids; there was a traumatizing miscarriage about twenty years ago." Abby held a hand over her footprint tattoos. "I don't talk about it because the memories of that day kill me. Oliver, over there, broke off our engagement when I was recovering in the hospital because he couldn't handle my grief. My parents picked up the pieces. I guess Oliver continued on in the USMC."

Gibbs arched an eyebrow. "But you haven't seen him, or anything since?"

"Not one iota. You, Ziva, Tony, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, and even Vance would know if I had. Abigail, too."

"Why's that?"

"I would need that much help to drive Oliver back out."

"Dually noted." Gibbs kissed Abby on her forehead. "You know that we're all here for you, right? Even Abigail."

She winked at him. "I _do_ know."

"That's my girl. What do you need right now?"

"A hug." Abby decided. "Please?"

"You bet. Come here."

Gibbs pulled Abby into such a warm hug that she forgot about her problems.

Just for a few more minutes.


	19. Nineteen

**Happy new year!**

* * *

Somehow, Abby found it within herself to get up and look upon the dead body of her former fiancé. She'd seen plenty of dead people before, but this was extremely different. There was a duty to be done.

Ducky broke her thoughts with his gentle tone. "My dear, are you alright?"

"I really wish I knew." she sighed. "Please let me see him."

Both bodies had sheets over them, but Ducky still knew to whom his friend was referring.

"Here we are."

He pulled the sheet back just enough to reveal Caplan's face. Abby's first instinct was to run as old memories returned in a flood, but she stood her ground. Caplan had never done anything bad to her, except for the day he left, and even that had only been a heated argument. She wasn't going to justify that moment from two decades ago by turning tail now.

Abby finally tore her eyes away from him and sighed. "I knew him once, Ducky. Very well."

"I'm sorry." the old man said politely. "What was his name?"

"Oliver Caplan. He was USMC—even when I knew him... although that was twenty years ago by now." she explained. "I almost became his wife."

This information jarred the medical examiner as much as it had jarred Gibbs. "What happened? When was the last time you saw him?"

"There was a fight, and he walked away from me. May was the milestone anniversary."

"Alright." Ducky lifted back the other sheet so Abby could see Forsythe. "Have you ever seen _this_ gentleman before?"

Abby regarded him for a beat and then shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"Okay, then." he covered Forsythe's body again. "Thank you."

Ducky rose to his feet as he prepared to issue orders to Palmer, but stopped when they were joined by Gibbs and Abigail. They looked like they had an update.

"Jethro, Abigail." he greeted them. "What news?"

Abigail sighed. "Ziva just called to tell us that she's had a chat with Bethel. My sister actually ID'd _both_ of these men."

"Splendid. Abby and I are at somewhat of a loss: she knows the un-uniformed man as an Oliver Caplan, but she doesn't know the name of his companion."

Abigail said, "He's called Lieutenant Noah Forsythe, and he was Coast Guard."

"Which explains why _you_ were summoned here." Ducky realized.

"Yes, and for the record, _Caplan_ had the USMC rank of Staff Sergeant."

"I see." Ducky remarked as he digested this information. "How does Bethel know them?"

"Because of Zelda, her currently missing wife." Abigail pointed to Caplan. _"He_ threatened Zelda after she was awarded the Purple Heart. The way he saw it, she didn't deserve it."

"And what of the lieutenant?"

Abigail sneered in the direction of Noah Forsythe's body. _"He_ was the jackal who assaulted my sister-in-law in the worst possible way."

Ducky and Palmer were surprised by this last revelation, but it shook Abby to the core. This was all just too much. How she _longed_ for some peace and quiet.

Abby's only response was to vomit. Again.

* * *

"You're having one hell of a day aren't you, babe?" Abigail said sympathetically. "Come sit down."

The MCRT associates had since left the crime scene to go back to NCIS, although Abigail drove the car back this time. Abby was yet looking a little green.

When they returned, they made their way to the lab very discreetly. They both just wanted a few minutes to themselves without the world interrupting. Abigail also seemed to be in some kind of 'mother hen' mode.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Abby sat at the main table as she checked the time on her watch. "Yep. As long as I don't have to see anymore dead bodies for awhile, I should be good. I do _not_ want to puke for a third time today."

"As long as you're sure."

"I am; it's just hormones mixed with major shock. This is practice for tackling morning sickness."

Abby sat back and rubbed small circles on her middle. Thoughts of being pregnant filled her brain—they always comforted her. And she wanted to will it into the void. Into the universe.

Abigail just found the sight endearing. "What are you thinking now?"

"That next time, _you're_ doing all the heavy lifting."

They'd never talked about having any more children in addition to the one(s) they were already working on, but Abigail's response was heartfelt and immediate.

"Okay." she kissed Abby on the lips. "Next time, the heavy lifting is _all_ on me."

Abby's heart jumped. "Wait, really?"

"Really." Abigail confirmed. "I love you, and I think that one more kid in addition to whoever is on the way will be perfect. Things would be rounded out."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Oh, all the time. How about _I_ say it you some?" Abigail guided Abby to lay her head on her middle. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

She stroked Abby's hair.

"You're the keeper of my heart, and I already know that you've been worth the wait."

These words made Abby's heart turn flips, but this time she knew that it wasn't because of the hormones. How she loved this woman.

"All I want is to find Zelda so that Bethel and Hennie can have her back," Abby said. "And to just cuddle with the pets."

"That sounds like a perfect end to today, and it'll happen because we're _going_ to find Zelda."

"From what I've heard about her," Abby murmured. "She's virtually indestructible."

Abigail made a sound of agreement. "Oh, yes. Just wait until you find out her _whole_ story—there's a reason that Zelda is unbreakable."

"So what are you saying?"

"That I wouldn't put it past Zelda to escape from wherever she is, and neither should you."

Abby breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, that makes me feel a lot better."

"Perfect."

They pulled apart and straightened themselves out when they heard the elevator ding in the hallway.

McGee entered the lab, feeling very puzzled.

"Abby?" he said. "What's going on?"

The scientist was just as confused. "I don't know. I guess Abigail sent for you."

The red-haired woman stepped forward. "I did. McGee, I need you to run an errand for me."

"R-really?" he sputtered. "I mean, I'll do it, but why _me?"_

"Because you're a gentleman, and you don't ask a million questions like Tony does."

Abigail extracted from a pocket on her CGIS windbreaker some bank notes and a folded up sheet of paper.

"Take these." she handed the items to him. "Go to that little market in the yard, and get what's on that list. Come find me when you get back. Tell Gibbs that you're doing me a favor if he intercepts you."

McGee pocketed the money and examined Abigail's list. It contained things like juice, cheese, and saltine crackers—all items to settle a queasy stomach. Abigail had also given him a tidy sum of spending money. What was going on?

"Abigail—" he tried.

She interrupted, waggling a finger at him. "Ah-ah! _That_ sounds like a question!"

McGee stomped one foot in frustration. "I didn't even get that far!"

"But I know how your brain works, Mister Gemcity."

His eyebrows raised. "So you've read _Deep Six,_ but you never said anything until now because...?"

Abigail's eyes flickered to the ceiling for a beat. "I'm sure that the goofballs upstairs heckled you enough when the material was new."

"Did they ever…" McGee muttered as Abigail physically turned him around.

"But that was all in the past, and this is the present. I think you'll be okay." Abigail gave him a nudge towards the door. "Now hop to it, and don't skimp!"

McGee was desperate for the whole picture, but he also wanted to live to see Delilah that night. Death at the hands of Abigail Borin at the behest of Abigail Scuito was _not_ the way he wanted to die. Delilah would dig him up herself and then kill him again if he started asking either Abigail a question about the list he'd been given. He was way smarter than that.

"Okay, Abigail. Off I go."

When McGee was back in the elevator, Abby turned to Abigail again.

"What did you do?" she wanted to know.

Abigail's tone was one of purposefully badly-feigned innocence. "I sent him along to be an errand monkey for me. He's going to get some things that will quell your stomach."

Abby laughed softly. "As bright as McGee is, he also knows when to stop. That's why you appreciate his quality about limited questions."

"Bingo. I also told him not to skimp because those things are also going to be for Bethel—I imagine that she's peckish by now, but probably doesn't have _much_ of an appetite."

"I don't blame her. Are you going to go get her now?"

"Yep." Abigail kissed Abby's fingers. "I'll be right back."

Abby winked. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Abigail found Bethel and Hennie still in the lounge, although at a table together. They were also in somewhat better spirits. Hennie was finishing off a snack, while beside her, Bethel was flipping through her latest all-purpose journal. It was quiet.

Both mother and child were as good as they could be, all things considered.

Bethel had her hearing aids out again, but still felt the vibrations of Abigail's footfalls through the carpet. She even lit up when she saw her. Her big sister always made her happy.

"Hey, Gail! Any updates?"

"Not that I've been apprised of."

Bethel's cheer faded. "Oh."

"We're doing everything we can, Bethie."

"I know. I appreciate it." Bethel sighed. "All I want is my family together, and safe. What do I do?"

Abigail retrieved her sister's hearing devices and held them out to her. "How about you start by putting these back in? Seems like you're talking again; Ziva said that you'd stopped."

Bethel rolled her eyes, but followed through on the suggestion that Abigail had not-so-subtly lodged at her.

"All systems go," Bethel reported when everything was back in place. "And Ziva wasn't wrong—I just needed some quiet so that I could process what drove me to quiet in the first place."

"Which was what? How can I help?"

Bethel opened her mouth to respond, but she closed it again to look over her sister's shoulder. Abigail followed her gaze.

Tony was in the doorway, wanting to say something, but stopped: seeing both redheads looking directly at him was unnerving. It was all in their eyes.

"While we're _young,_ DiNozzo!" Abigail jibed.

Tony laughed nervously and cleared his throat. "Right. Gibbs told me to tell you that you've got five more minutes until you have to put your CGIS hat back on."

"Okay. Thanks."

Tony nodded and headed back out to the bullpen.

Abigail returned her gaze to Bethel. "Do you want to talk about what you were about to tell me?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But—"

Bethel cut her off loudly. "Gail! _Please!"_

They didn't fight often, but Bethel's tone suggested that this possibility wasn't too far off. Abigail wisely chose to back down.

"Okay, Bethel Grace, I'm sorry."

"Thank you." she replied. "Seriously, though—what do we do now?"

"I'm going to bring you and Hennie down to Abby's lab."

Bethel narrowed her eyes at Abigail. "You're up to something."

"And _you're_ not wrong."

Bending down, Abigail tapped Hennie on the shoulder. The little girl smiled at her.

"Hi!" she said brightly.

"Hi, Hennie. Do you know who I am?"

Hennie bobbed her head. "Mummy said you're Tante Gail."

"That's right. I'm also her big sister."

"Coo!" she cried with sincere awe.

"Do you have any questions for me?"

"Tante," said Hennie after a moment of squirming. "D-do your ears work? Or are they like mummy's and mumma's?"

"They _do_ work." Abigail reassured her.

"Okay. Do you sign?"

Abigail made sure Hennie saw her make the sign for yes. "Ask me something else."

"Do you speak Dutch?"

"I do."

Hennie's mouth dropped open—she'd been expecting her aunt to say no. The little girl was as versed in Dutch as her mothers, but it wasn't often that she met anyone else that was. And Abigail could even sign. In Hennie's eyes, her new auntie was extremely impressive.

As such, Hennie offered up the first compliment she could think of. "You're pretty."

"So are you." Abigail stroked Hennie's cheek. "Right now, you, me, and mummy are going to go out of this room, but can you clean up all of your snack things first, please?"

"Okay!"

Amazingly, Hennie followed though on Abigail's request. She even started humming to herself.

Abigail straightened up and arched an eyebrow at her sister, expectant.

Bethel shuffled her feet sheepishly. "Yes, I know that my daughter is a complicit neat-freak, and no, we don't know where she got it from."

Hennie was back before Abigail could throw out a quip.

"All done!" she crowed. "What now?"

Abigail picked up the handle of Bethel's luggage. "Just hold your mother's hand and don't let go."

* * *

Surprisingly, McGee had already had already come and gone. All of the snacks were laid out on the main table, and there were also a number of glassware beakers on standby for cups. The change from what Abigail had lent McGee was laid neatly in one corner. Three stools were even group around the table. Everything looked presentable.

And instead of loud techno music, Abby had The Beatles playing on her speakers at a sensible sound limit.

Abigail suspected that this was for Hennie's benefit.

Abby emerged from her office, beaming when she saw her visitors.

She greeted Bethel first. "Hey—it's great to see you out of the hospital. I bet you're happy to be anywhere else, huh?"

"Yes. I'm just not sure what happens now… or where to put our things…"

Abby quickly set the luggage out of the way for her. "That's that, and as for the rest, I imagine that you would like something to snack on, huh?"

Bethel nodded. "Yes again. Hennie just had a snack about five minutes ago."

"Then help yourself to what's on the table. I'm just going to have a quick chat with Abigail in the hallway."

Bethel gave a nod of acknowledgement and began to make herself comfortable. The Abigails vacated the lab, standing close to the elevator.

"No updates, I guess?" Abby said.

"Unfortunately." confirmed Abigail. "Will you try to pry out any more information out that Ziva couldn't?"

"I have you covered, beautiful. Don't worry." Abigail winked at her and pressed the up button on the elevator panel. "We will find Zelda, and we _will_ get to the bottom of this mystery."

"Solving crime is what we do best." Abby kissed Abigail. "I love you."

Abigail reciprocated the affection. "I love _you,_ just the same."

The elevator door finally dinged open. Abby saw Abigail off.

When the scientist returned to the lab, it was to find Bethel tucking into her snacks. She'd been hungrier than she'd realized. Hennie was a few feet away, sitting on the floor and playing with her toys. Her dog tags lent to her by Zelda were hanging over the front of her shirt. She was more confident about showing them off now. To an ordinary person, the scene before Abby was just that.

Ordinary.

She sat at the table, and prepared two beakers of pink fruit juice. Bethel accepted one when Abby passed it to her, but continued eating.

"Thanks, Abby." she said after she stopped to pace herself.

"You're totally welcome, Bethel, but when was the last time you ate?"

"On the train. I tried to eat at the hospital, but it didn't go to well."

"That's the way for most people." Abby held up her own drink. "Here's to being friends now. And snacks."

"To friends and snacks." Bethel echoed. "Cheers."

They clinked their beakers and drank.

Bethel examined Abby with a scrutinizing expression as they set their drinks back down. "I want to ask you some things, but I don't want to sound too forward."

"Fire away. I'm an open book."

Bethel went at it like a freight train. "You know Oliver and Noah, don't you? I mean _personally."_

"Noah, no. Oliver, yes."

"How?" Bethel pressed.

"We were engaged twenty years ago. I also ended up pregnant, but there was a miscarriage."

"I'm sorry."

Abby said simply, "It was a long time ago."

Bethel made tracks for her next inquiry. "Are you in love with my sister?"

"Yes, Bethel, I am. Abigail is the absolute love of my life."

"Does she know?"

"She does, and she loves me the same way."

Bethel was clearly vetting her, but Abby just let her go.

"Are you going to propose to Abigail?"

"In due time. I also know that she's been engaged before, and that her fiancé died when they were away in combat."

Bethel remarked, "I'd never seen her cry so much before."

"Want to hear something cheerful? We already know that we want to get married in the summertime."

This threw Bethel. "That's less than a year from now."

"Yes," Abby affirmed. "But there's a pin in it for the time being. I would rather discuss planning for a wedding when our whole family is together, safe and sound."

Bethel's heart tightened at the phrase 'whole family.' But it also brought to mind yet something else to ask.

"Do you know about my parents, and my brothers?"

"Yes. Abigail told me about why they mistreat you."

Bethel ran her fingers through her sweeping orange hair. "Abigail has always been more of a mother to me than our actual one ever has. _She_ raised me."

"I think that's really admirable, and I love the love that she has for you."

Bethel smiled at that. "Then do you have any siblings?"

"A brother. His name is Luca, and he's married to a really awesome lady called Emerald."

"Would you step up to make things right if she ever hurt him?"

"Of course." Abby answered. "He's my _brother."_

Bethel arched an eyebrow. "Now you know what I'd do if I caught wind of you crossing my sister."

"Message received, but something would have to go _very_ wrong for me to dream of hurting her."

"Got it. We've been through so much drama that it's just our nature to look out for each other." Bethel paused and then tacked on a new inquiry. "Finding people isn't NCIS' exact specialty, but you guys _have_ done it before?"

Abby nodded. "Lots of times. We will find Zelda today, and you will hold her again."

Bethel exhaled shakily, and then voiced a new question, altogether. "Are you local? I get the vibe that says you're not."

"You should listen to that vibe more often, or be a private investigator." Abby chirped in amusement. "I was born and raised in New Orleans. How I got to this part of the country is another story for another day."

"Then please tell me what your hometown is like—if you have time."

Abby smiled at her. "I will always have time for you."

Bethel signed her thanks. "I love knowing that."

"So—where should I start, with telling you about New Orleans? Mardi Gras?"

"Yes, please." Bethel moved closer. "That's the perfect place to start."

Abby promptly launched into a fully detailed explanation of the crazy holiday, complete with her own crazy anecdotes. This was the perfect distraction.


	20. Twenty

After dealing with various appointments and therapies, on top of coping with the loss of a primary sense after being discharged from the service, there had never been much cause for Zelda to travel outside of Ohio. A lack of time was the main reason. Those appointments led her to big cities like North Canton and Columbus, but other than that, Zelda and her family stayed in Charm. It was tiny. It was boring. But it was their life.

Zelda had always planned for her and Bethel and Hennie to leave one day, so they could see the world together. One day.

She just hadn't expected be forced out at the last minute, or to have left many of their things behind.

* * *

She took stock of her surroundings when she emerged from the warehouse. It was in an area of town that seemed not as abandoned as she'd first imagined. That was a good sign.

Of course, she couldn't hear anything, but she definitely smelled the smog of nearby traffic. Which meant that people were around.

Somewhere.

Finally, Zelda found herself on a main road. It was very busy, with people, businesses, and cars. Everything was quaint. Nobody paid her any attention as they passed by. Typical city life.

Civilization. Zelda had found civilization. Her good luck had kicked in, yet again.

"Miss, are you alright?"

Zelda stopped short. A police officer was in front of her, and some feet past _her,_ she spotted a police cruiser. What was giving Zelda pause was that it had been awhile since she'd had to explain her deafness to a stranger. Bethel always did that.

The officer tried again, realizing that Zelda was different.

"My name is Harmony." she indicated the badge pinned to the front of her uniform, reading 'H. ZHOU' in big letters. "How do you prefer to communicate?"

Zelda spoke for the first time since her abduction. "I read lips, and I sign. I just can't hear myself when I speak."

Harmony arched her eyebrows. "I see."

And Zelda saw straight through her. "I am completely deaf, if that's what you're wondering."

"I _was_ wondering that. Will you tell me your name?"

"Zelda Pearl Van Dekker."

Harmony tapped the top of her own head when she saw Zelda's. "Are you in the service?"

Confused, Zelda mimicked the officer, and her fingers closed over the bill of a hat she was wearing. It was dark blue, and said 'VETERAN' across the top in big yellow letters. The accessory had been given to Zelda by her speech therapist. In all of the confusion of the day, she'd forgotten that she was wearing it.

"I used to be. I'm a retired marine."

At this, Harmony's demeanor changed as she stood straighter and became more official. She had sworn an oath to protect anyone who needed protection, but in this town, words like 'marine' really meant a lot.

"Come on over to the cruiser. My partner and I will help you with whatever you need."

"Oh, thank you. Woah…"

Zelda's body was finally catching up with the gravity of the situation. This caused her to grow lightheaded, and to stumble.

Harmony caught her. "Okay, Zelda. We'll take it slow."

Harmony's training officer was a woman by the surname of Sanchez. She quite liked her job, and when it came to the rookies, her style of teaching involved kicking her trainee out of the nest on occasion. This the case today. Harmony had spotted Zelda first, looking dazed and confused. Sanchez encouraged her to investigate.

Harmony was just returning with Zelda when Sanchez was taken by surprise about something else. A BOLO, issued on the veteran's behalf, had just been issued over the patrol vehicle's mobile computer. It gave a complete description of what Zelda had been seen in, what she looked like, and special notes about her being deaf and pregnant. A picture of her service record had also been included for good measure. The last note in the BOLO included very specific instructions about contacting NCIS immediately when Zelda was found.

Imagine Sanchez's great surprise when her own rookie returned with the BOLO subject mere moments later.

"What is it?" Harmony said in her own surprise.

 _"This_ woman is who you saw?" Sanchez questioned.

Harmony bobbed her head. "Yes, m'am. She's called Zelda Van Dekker, and she's retired USMC. She's just told me so."

"Did Zelda say anything about being deaf and pregnant?"

"Deaf, yes, but not pregnant. What's going on?"

The CO got out of the cruiser, and stood, facing Zelda. "My name is Officer Sanchez. My partner and I are with the metro police department."

"Hi." Zelda said tentatively. "I sign and lip read."

Sanchez chose her words carefully. "How complete is your deafness?"

"One hundred percent. I can understand you both, but my hearing loss is half what earned me a Purple Heart and an honorable discharge from the Iraq War."

"Here." Sanchez opened the back door of the cruiser and motioned to the seat. "Come sit."

Zelda did, and sat so that her feet were hanging out of the vehicle. Sanchez knelt in front of her.

"Do you know what BOLO stands for?" she asked.

"Be on the lookout. Has one been issued for me?"

Sanchez nodded. "Yes—by NCIS, not even five minutes ago. Do you know someone there?"

"No," Zelda replied. "But my sister-in-law is part of CGIS. If a BOLO's been put out, then that means my wife and my daughter are _safe,_ and my sister-in-law is working with her NCIS counterparts to look for me."

Harmony knelt beside Sanchez to look up at Zelda. "What have you been through? How did you get to this part of town?"

"I'm new, and it's a bit of a tale."

"We're law officials. Try us."

And so Zelda told them everything she knew.

Shocked was the word to describe Sanchez's and Harmony's expressions by the time she was done. This was going to be an interesting day, to say the least.

"Do you not believe me?" Zelda asked after what had been to her, too along a pause.

"We do, Zelda, we do." Harmony said quickly. "That was just a lot."

Sanchez nodded in agreement and then pointed to something that Zelda had been holding the whole time.

"Does that belong to you?"

She was referring to a backpack decorated by the USMC logo. It was definitely Zelda's, and she'd found while searching for a way out of the warehouse, picking it up without a second thought. This had escaped her memory.

"Oh, my God." she murmured. "It _is_ mine. I forgot I had it…"

Zelda began looking through the front pocket of her backpack, searching desperately for something. But what?

After a few moments of rummaging, Zelda found what she was looking for—her iPod and its charging device—only to be defeated just as quickly. A look of despair was plain on her face.

"What's wrong?" Sanchez asked when Zelda looked to them again.

"These are both totally out of power." Zelda showed them. "I use the iPod to text my wife since I don't use phones anymore, and I _need_ to get hold of her now, so I can tell her I'm okay! How do I do that if my electronics are dead?"

Zelda began to cry.

"I don't know what to do!"

"Take this." Harmony handed Zelda a small plastic-wrapped package from one of the many compartments on her utility belt. "It's a disposable charger. I always have some on hand because you never know."

From another compartment, she handed Zelda a pack of travel tissues.

"Keep these. You need them more than I do right now."

Zelda grew suddenly very aware of how disheveled she must have looked, but said, "Thank you, officer. That's really nice."

"You're very welcome, Zelda, and you're safe now. Where do you want to go?"

"MedStar Hospital." Zelda decided, having the same thought process that Bethel had had about it.

"Alright." both officers got to their feet. "We'll get you there and reconnected with your family in no time flat."

Zelda sat facing the right way in her seat and buckled herself in before facing her rescuers. "Thanks again for everything."

"We are proud to protect and serve, but especially veterans." Harmony told her. "Thank you for your service."

"Thank you for yours."

Harmony gave another smile and closed the cruiser door for her.

As they drove off, Zelda figured out how the disposable charger worked and plugged it into her iPod. Once the device registered a new power source, it began to charge right away. Contacting Bethel was going to be a possibility very soon.

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief.

She still had yet to learn that her captors were dead, but at least she was away from them. She was very safe.

In due time, she would even be reunited with Bethel and Hennie. No one could hurt them after that—they were going to be protected by _two_ top federal agencies. It would be very hard to touch them.

They would finally have a break.

They could finally start over in peace.

* * *

The last of the NCIS team and affiliates had only cleared out of Abby's lab after coming to introduce themselves to Bethel and Hennie when the elevator dinged out in the hallway.

"Who could _that_ be?" Bethel said in confusion. "I mean, I know my sister's team is busy, but I thought the last of the others was Director Vance."

"It was. Oh, of course…"

Abby looked out to see Hollis on the approach.

"And just what are we saying 'of course' about?" Hollis asked in a bemused tone when she joined them.

Abby laughed nervously. "Why, your excellent timing! You're still here?"

"Cooper is being looked after for a few minutes, and I just finished a witness interview with Gibbs, if that's what you mean." Hollis tied her long hair into a ponytail with a hair tie she found in one pocket. "Leon invited me to stay for as long as I can, so here I am."

She glanced at the main wall clock.

"Three… two… one… bam…"

The moment she reached the end of her countdown, one of the many devices in the room began to make alert noises.

Abby shook her head and laughed. "Some things never change."

Bethel became completely surprised. "What was _that?"_

"Hollis has always been some kind of good luck charm." Abby told her. "Whenever she walks in here, something goes off to provide a case break. Every time."

"If not immediately." Hollis pointed to Bethel's phone on the table. "Is that yours, dear?"

The possibility of this hadn't occurred to her, so she scrambled for her phone. She even gasped when she saw who had sent her a text. Was this real?

The device chimed again.

Hennie looked up at her mother. "But that's _mumma's_ noise! _Answer_ her!"

Bethel didn't need telling twice. Relieved didn't begin to cover how she felt when she saw Zelda's message.

 _Safe. Exhausted. At MedStar w/metro police & a Doctor Turner. The baby is healthy—no problems. I'm also healthy. See you soon. Love you xoxo_

Thereafter followed a picture of Zelda. She was dressed in regular clothes and sitting on a hospital bed, but was hooked up to an external oxygen supply. What lifted Bethel's heart the most was that Zelda had a small smile on her lips.

It was all Bethel could do to not burst into extremely overtired tears on the spot. She sobered up when she saw Abby and Hollis watching her. There was information yet to be delivered.

She cleared her throat. "Incredibly, that _was_ from Zelda. She just texted me to say that she's definitely safe, and that she's at MedStar, actually."

Abby immediately excused herself. She told them she was going to call Gibbs, but really, she just wanted a moment where she could catch her breath and cry a few relieved tears in private.

Hollis moved closer to Bethel. "And let me guess—she bumped into Turner, huh?"

"So it would seem. Why?"

"Everyone around here calls _me_ a good luck charm," Hollis replied. "But Stella is mine."

"Really? How?"

"We served together for many years in the Middle East, and she saved my life about half a dozen times over." Hollis patted Bethel's hand. "Did Zelda say where she's been? Or how she escaped?"

"No, but I imagine she will when we see her."

"Did she say anything about…?"

Hollis quickly signed the word for baby. Bethel still caught her hint and was pleased that things hadn't been spoiled for Hennie. She wouldn't be finding out about her siblings yet for awhile.

"Zelda is on oxygen," Bethel reported. "But she said that all else checks out."

Hollis breathed her own sigh of relief. "Thank God, because I want to tell you something as a friend _and_ a mother who really understands exhaustion."

Bethel put her game face on. "Yes?"

"It's no coincidence that Zelda has miraculously turned up _safe,_ just as Caplan and Forsythe have expired. It just isn't. We all care for you and your family because you're Abigail Borin's younger sister, but the people upstairs are going to want to ask her things."

Bethel realized where this was going. "You think I should be my wife's voice, just in case, because she is probably more drained than I am, and because I can understand her best?"

"Mhm. Just prepare yourself if it comes up."

"I can do that, but might I ask _you_ something as a friend?"

"Certainly." Hollis replied.

Bethel pointed to herself. "I am _bone-tired,_ and I imagine that Hennie is running on fumes, but doesn't know the correct phrasing. Would you please find a hotel for us? I can pay for it, but I just don't have the brainpower to think that far ahead."

"I will look into it."

"Thanks." Bethel handed her a charge card from her wallet. "Don't tell Abigail, if you can help it."

Hollis pocketed the card. "Why?"

"Because we left so fast that we didn't have time to secure anything like a sleeping space."

"And you know that Abigail will do anything for you, but you just want time to recharge before you tackle something _so_ in-depth with her?"

"Bingo."

"Then I will do my best to keep it between us." Hollis told her sincerely. "I have a sibling, too, and we're very close—I totally get the hurdle you're hitting right now."

"Good. Thank you."

Hollis just gave Bethel's hand another pat. "Excuse me. I'm going to go check on Abby."

She left the lab for the interior office.

Bethel scooped up Hennie, who was ready to fall asleep standing up again. The little girl even gave a huge yawn when she got settled in her mother's lap.

"I love you…" she sighed.

"I love you, too." Bethel hugged her. "Are you tired, my girl?"

"Yes." Hennie said seriously. "Time to see mumma?"

"Almost. How about we send her a picture of us?

Hennie perked up and nodded. "Yes!"

"Okay. Hold still…"

They sent a very nice picture of themselves to Zelda, under which Bethel added a message.

 _We love you so much. See you soon, Z xoxo_


	21. Twenty One

In a rather blatant sense of déja vù, Bethel and Hennie found themselves at the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital again. But at least it was to spring Zelda free. They were accompanied this time by Gibbs and Abigail, as everyone else was back at NCIS. But Bethel and Hennie didn't mind. Only good things could come from this visit.

They were even met by Doctor Turner again.

"Hi." she said in surprise. "Hollis just called me to say that you and Hennie were on your way back."

Bethel tried not to lose her cool. "Here we are. You already met my sister and Hennie, but our newcomer now is strictly NCIS."

"Oh, really?"

The man in question moved forward and shook the doctor's hand. "Yes, m'am. I'm Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Would Zelda Van Dekker be in Urgent Care now?"

"General care, actually."

"How did Zelda get here from wherever she was?"

"She was brought in by two metro officers." Turner told him. "They found her, or she found them—nobody has been entirely clear on that yet."

"Are those officers here?"

"Indeed, Special Agent Gibbs. One moment." Turner looked back to Bethel. "I'll be along in awhile, but your wife is one floor up in room 228."

"Got it! Thank you!"

With Abigail carrying Hennie, Bethel hurried towards the elevators.

* * *

Room 228 was very easy to find.

Zelda was upright in the bed, still dressed in her own clothes, but no longer on external oxygen.

Bethel ran to her side, embracing her. After tears were shed and kisses were had, the duo began signing to each other. Zelda even seemed to be signing faster than her wife. Abigail couldn't keep up with any of it, but Bethel was matching Zelda sign for sign. They were truly in sync.

At one point, Bethel signaled for Zelda to pause.

"What's wrong?" she wanted to know.

"Nothing." Bethel kissed her. "Look who's here."

She motioned back to the door. Abigail was there, smiling at her and most importantly, holding Hennie.

Zelda's heart promptly jumped for joy. She'd missed Hennie something fierce.

And Abigail. Zelda had many memories from her childhood of this woman. Bethel's cool older sister who had always treated her like family—who _was_ now her family.

Meanwhile, Abigail had a start when she realized that she hadn't seen Zelda since before her enlistment. Zelda had been able to hear the last time they'd seen each other. That seemed another lifetime ago.

"Is it alright if we sit?" Abigail finally asked.

Like Bethel, Zelda spoke with a speech impediment, but her voice was very soft. "Of course it is. Come here."

Abigail sat with her and eased Hennie into her arms. The little girl didn't wake because of her exhaustion, but she snuggled closer to Zelda. A smile graced her face as she began to dream.

Zelda returned her attention to Abigail after a few moments.

"I haven't seen you since before Iraq." she stated.

Abigail's response was sheepish. "I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. I understand why you had to stay away." Zelda touched a hand to Abigail's cheek. "I've just missed you."

"And _I've_ missed _you."_ they hugged. "How did you get away?"

"I walked out of the building."

Abigail stared. Bethel, too.

"It's what happened." Zelda said authoritatively. "Were the men caught?"

Abigail finally remembered how to talk. "We can discuss that at NCIS."

"Fine, but will sleeping be on the agenda? I'm _really_ desperate."

Bethel kissed her wife. "Soon, my love. Should I send for the doctor now?"

Zelda tapped her nose with one forefinger.

Abigail got up at once to look for Doctor Turner again. She was just down the hallway, and very pleased that Zelda was asking for her. This meant that she was close to getting discharged already. Abigail also chose to leave the VanDekkers be so they could have some time together as a family.

Looking for Gibbs was next on her to-do list.

Upon being directed to a row of conference rooms just off the main lobby by a nurse, she knocked on the only one with closed doors. Gibbs bid her permission to enter. He was at a desk at the head of the room, with Zelda's rescuers on the other side. Abigail was reminded vividly of Gibbs' interrogation setup at NCIS.

While the atmosphere was not as heavy as it would be one of these occasions, a sense of relief was felt as Harmony and Sanchez both stood immediately to receive her. They respected Gibbs because he was from a prestigious agency, but his manner made them nervous. The CGIS official was a welcome diffusion.

Abigail was just happy that she'd already learned the officers' first names.

She approached them with one hand extended. "Lyra Sanchez and Harmony Zhou, I presume?"

The younger of the pair shook her hand first. "I'm Zhou, m'am."

Abigail wouldn't have put Zhou at much older than her youngest probie, so she had mercy on her. "How long have you have you been on the job?"

"This is my second week, m'am."

"I have enough probationary officers who call me that. Special Agent Borin will do."

Harmony bobbed her head. "Yes, m—Special Agent Borin."

"Harmony, did _you_ find Zelda?"

"I did. I approached her and started a dialogue because she was just standing there in the middle of the sidewalk, looking confused."

"What happened when you realized that she is deaf?" Abigail continued.

Harmony realized that this was one of her law enforcement seniors checking up on her, so she answered as professionally as she could. "I slowed down to make sure that she could at least read my lips—I must admit, Special Agent Borin, that I wouldn't have known how to sign because I never took any ASL classes when they were offered."

Abigail arched an eyebrow. "And now that you've encountered a deaf person while in the field...?"

"I am _definitely_ going to look into those classes now."

Abigail handed her a card from a coat pocket. "Call me tomorrow if you get stuck, Harmony. We can come up with something."

Harmony tucked one of the pockets into her own jacket as she took a step back. "Thank you. This means a lot."

Abigail gave a nod of approval before moving on to Sanchez. She outranked Harmony enough to train her, but was also young yet. Probably barely thirty. However, she also recognized Abigail's authority and stood at attention for her.

The redhead spoke first. "Sanchez, did Special Agent Gibbs happen to mention which agency _I_ work for?"

She nodded. "Yes. He said you're from GCIS—Coast Guard Investigative Services."

"Very good." Abigail praised. "Tell me something about yourself."

"I come from a long line of nurses, first aid responders, and firefighters. My dream is to join the Air Force."

"That's all incredibly impressive. I take it that you're padding your resumé first?"

"I am."

Abigail offered her a kind smile. "Keep at it, Lyra. The higher-ups in this town really pay attention to details like those."

"Thank you. I'll remember that."

"Good. And I presume that you were nearby when Zhou noticed my sister-in-law?"

Sanchez's tone took on a responsible air. "I was approximately fifteen feet away in our cruiser when I saw the BOLO matching Zelda's description. My partner appeared with her, moments later. We helped Zelda after that, and when we learned that she's a veteran with a Purple Heart to her name, we took extra measures to provide the best service we could."

"Thank you for looking after her." Abigail said sincerely. "Did Zelda request MedStar Hospital in particular?"

"She did."

"Okay, then. That rounds things out for me."

Abigail shook Sanchez's and Harmony's hands respectively before moving around the table to stand next to Gibbs.

"Anything else?" she asked him.

"You covered it, Borin." he answered. "Mostly."

Abigail just held back a sigh. "Meaning _what?"_

"That we were about to tackle one last subject before you walked in. Sanchez and Zhou are metro police, which means they see all kinds of things that we don't. It also means that they happen to know exactly who our mysterious 'K. Watson' is."

"Who?"

Gibbs gave a minute shrug. _"That_ is as far as we got."

Abigail regarded the officers before her again. "Start talking."

"Watson is a smarmy woman-hating jackanape, Special Agent Borin, if you'll pardon my French. His ambition is to be a detective, but I've heard through the grapevine that he's close to washing out. I wish I could say I was surprised."

"And why's that?"

"Watson was my trainee before Harmony, and he did a lot of things that warranted complaints on his jacket. I would be here all day if I had to list them. He somehow always managed to just toe the line to keep from getting fired."

Abigail hated how curious she was about someone who had been bad to Zelda. "Why aren't you partners anymore?"

"Our six month training window had ended. I was introduced to Harmony the next week."

"I see. What became of Watson?"

Sanchez put her hands in her pockets as she sighed. "He's officially on his last strike and the consequence is that he was denoted to train security. That's his new beat."

Harmony chimed in, "Why do you need Watson?"

Abigail shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Did Zelda mention the name Bethel?"

"Her wife. Yep."

"Well, Watson is the first person whom Bethel asked for help when she realized that Zelda was missing. It didn't go well."

"Oh no. What did he do?"

Abigail wrinkled her nose. "Watson called Bethel a bad name because she forgot her words; she's also hearing impaired and that affects her speech. She was written off by him. He walked away after that."

"Wow," was all Harmony could think of to say because she was utterly gobsmacked.

Sanchez cleared her throat to remind Gibbs that she was there. "How can we help, sir?"

Gibbs answered her question with a question. "What's Watson's first name?"

"Knox."

"Do you know where he'd be right now, Sanchez?"

"I do."

"Then we'll head over to _your_ HQ to talk to your foremost CO." decided Gibbs. "I'm going to need yours and Zhou's help to catch this Knox Watson."

"We are at your disposal. Green means go."

"Alright, then. Will you two give us the room?"

The officers left.

Gibbs turned to his companion. "Abigail, how are you doing? Your day has been totally nonstop."

Abigail exhaled noisily. "I'm still trying to catch my breath."

"What's the catch?"

"I'm really worried that my parents and any or all of my brothers could show up."

"Looking for Bethel."

"Mhm. It's a long story, but they're half the reason that Bethel and Zelda felt like they had to ditch Ohio with Hennie, anyway."

"How many brothers do you have?" Gibbs asked suddenly.

"Three. They're all older than me, too."

"Do you think that any of them could best DiNozzo in a fight?"

This inquiry threw Abigail for such a loop that she grew confused. She also wasn't sure if she should laugh or not.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Could any of your brothers best DiNozzo in a fight?" Gibbs repeated. "Give me an honest answer."

"All of my brothers are farmers who think that 'lightheartedness' is beneath them, so no. Tony would easily beat any of them in a show of strength."

Gibbs gave Abigail a kind smile that only the people closest to him ever got to see. "I happen to know that no matter how much of a goofball Tony is, and for however much he puts your nerves through the paces, he _does_ care about you. Say the word, Abigail, and we've all got your back. Always. Tony will be the one leading the charge."

Abigail grinned because she knew that every word was true. "Thanks. I feel a lot better now, Leroy."

He hugged her and then held her at arm's length. "Are you good now?"

"Yes. Thank you." Abigail freshened up her appearance. "Are you going to the station with Sanchez and Zhou now?"

"I am. I'll be back at NCIS in an hour."

Abigail wanted to ask how Gibbs could be so sure, but then remembered just who she was talking to. Gibbs was a legend, a former sniper, and a man who loved his loved ones fiercely. He'd escaped from death many time. He was indestructible.

So Abigail finally just said, "Okay, Gibbs. I'll see you back at ranch in an hour."

They parted ways.

* * *

When Abigail and the Van Dekkers relocated to NCIS again, they set up camp in the lounge. The plan was to stay put there for the time being. It was plain that the family was extremely tired. Even Bethel was beginning to struggle with staying awake.

But at least Zelda had digested the developments about Caplan and Forsythe without freaking out. That was good.

Gibbs had even returned with Watson in record timing. Watson was cooling his heels in interrogation. Sanchez and Harmony were out on patrol again. The rest of the MCRT was back in the main bullpen. Even most of Abigail's team were out in the field, hunting down clues to this mystery.

All should have been well and right. But it wasn't.

Gibbs and Abigail were arguing. Like siblings. He was all for talking to Bethel and Zelda to see what they knew, but she was all for letting them and Hennie catch some sleep without any interruptions. Their conversation was going nowhere.

Unnoticed, Hollis entered the room and knelt in front of Bethel where she was on the couch.

"How are you?" Hollis asked gently.

Bethel did her best not to whine from her tiredness. "I'm positively exhausted, Hollis, and I have to take care of my family. Therein lies the bone of contention between Abigail and Gibbs."

"Here." Hollis handed her friend a file folder. "This should help."

Bethel opened it to find that Hollis had followed though on her word of promise to get sleeping accommodations. She had even returned the charge card. Everything was all squared away.

"Thank you." Bethel put the card away and closed the file folder. "Thank you for everything. Help me up?"

Hollis did. "All you have to do is go to Abigail and Gibbs, tell them that you are thankful for them reuniting you with your family, and that you're willing to cooperate with answering questions _after_ you've slept in beds from here. They'll understand."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes. I'm a war veteran and a mother to a small child, but your sister and Gibbs are veterans, too. They _will_ understand. I promise."

Bethel signed her thanks. "I appreciate you. Your friendship, too."

Hollis hugged Bethel and then gave her a gentle push in the others' direction. It was time to be the biggest person.

Bethel reached them, but was immediately distracted.

Abby had caught her attention. She was a few feet away in the hall, and something was wrong. She also had an evidence bag in one hand. Bethel couldn't tell what was in it.

She called to Abby. "Come here."

This brought the goth somewhat out of her daze as headed into the lounge. It also stopped Gibbs' and Abigail's argument.

"Abs, what the matter?" Gibbs queried. "What's that?"

Abby still sounded stunned. "He's dead. Oliver decided to look for me after twenty years, and now he's dead. That's _my_ fault."

"Don't think like that. None of this is on you."

Abigail joined the conversation, pointing to the evidence bag. It contained a hand-written letter.

"Is it alright if we read that?"

"Yeah. Ducky found it in Oliver's belongings, and sent me up here with it so I could bring it to you two."

She handed the letter over.

They began to read.

Abby suddenly started tapping her girlfriend almost frantically. "Abigail, I thought you said that your parents aren't Amish."

"They aren't." she answered. "They and my brothers are technically practicing Quakers."

Then reason caught up with Abigail.

"Why are we talking about this?"

Abby pointed to the hallway. A small number of people were approaching with Vance in the lead. In addition to the director, there were one woman and four more men, each with auburn or flaming red hair. Anyone would have noticed that alone. What _really_ made these other people stand out was that they were dressed conservatively, and the men each had long beards. The woman wore a plain white bonnet on her head, and the men each had a straw hat tucked under one arm. All of them ignored the stared they were getting from the occupants in the bullpen as they passed by.

Abigail and Bethel both groaned.

"What?" questioned Gibbs. "Who are those people that the director is escorting?"

The sisters both spoke in unison. "Our family."


	22. Twenty Two

Abby recoiled in surprise at the announcement because while she'd been expecting to encounter the rest of the Borins at some point, she hadn't expected it to be so soon. She also remembered Abigail's and Bethel's warnings of the other Borins being old-fashioned and homophobic. Those variables never made for a good outcome. Hot drinks, comfort food, and snuggling with the animals were definitely on the agenda for when they got home.

Bethel immediately went to wake Zelda. She felt bad about it, but she needed to see what was about to happen. Sleep would come for the Van Dekkers. At some point.

Abby just stood near Abigail, just in case she needed to hold her back. Was she even strong enough to contain her?

Gibbs and Hollis just gaped at their friends, trying to imagine what could make them react this way. They were already preparing to batten down the hatches.

"Abbsez," Gibbs called to them. "How bad could this get?"

 _"Bad."_ they chorused.

Vance drew level with the lounge occupants and spoke to Abigail first.

"Special Agent Borin, I believe you and Bethel knows these people?"

"Do we ever." Abigail did her best not to sneer. "These are our parents, Ezra and Anouk Borin, and our big brothers, Levi, Philip, and Solomon. I can't even remember the last time I saw any of them leave Ohio. We have a family farm there."

Bethel added, "They practically _banished_ me because they think my differences are a blight."

Now Vance was just beginning to realize that he'd accidentally dropped a lit match onto a pile of kindling.

"I see." he said to her. "It's no coincidence that they're here, looking for you."

"And what," Gibbs chimed in. "You decided to play with fire?"

"Watch yourself now." Vance warned him.

Abigail stepped forward, speaking to her parents in an unkind tone. "Why the hell do you want Bethel?"

Her father met her with a smug tone. "We came to speak with her, to tell her to come home."

Abigail immediately began to protest, but Bethel emitted a harsh bark of laughter.

 _"_ _Home?"_ she said incredulously. "Papa, are you _insane?"_

"Bethel, please—"

She stood her ground. "Why would I go back to that _godforsaken—"_

Anouk interrupted her. "Don't you take that tone with your father!"

"The _only_ reason," Bethel shot back. "I can take _any_ tone is because Abigail and Zelda have always loved me enough to make sure I can communicate at all!"

Opposite her, Levi actually did sneer. "The black sheep and the devil child…"

"If Gail is the black sheep, then what am _I?_ Am I _worse?_ There can only ever be _one_ black sheep in a family!"

Abigail got in another jibe, this time directed at Philip and Solomon. "Why did you two and Levi come? To be their _backup?"_

"We came because they asked," Philip replied smoothly. "And we really _do_ want Bethel back."

"In case you haven't noticed, she ran away on _purpose,_ and she has a wife and a child to care for!"

Philip would have spit on the ground at this, were they not inside. "Her family doesn't count in the eyes of God!"

"But it does in the eye of the _law!"_

Abigail wheeled about to talk Solomon, the only one who hadn't spoken yet.

"How did you all even figure out I was here?" she demanded.

"You mean since _your_ building is across the yard?"

"Yeah!"

"The receptionist said that you're 'working a case' over here, so here we are. Our goal was to bring Bethel home before she could start spreading any more of her drama."

Abigail's tone suggested now that she was dangerously close to blowing up. "Most of that drama is because of how you and the boys, and ma and papa have treated Bethel for her _entire_ life. The rest is because _none_ of you were there for her after she was hurt in the worst way possible. She ran here because she needs a place to heal."

Solomon ignored her and regarded Zelda with something like contempt.

"Did you _really_ marry my sister?" he asked.

"Yes, and _we_ are family now, whether you want to believe it or not!" Zelda cried. "Don't pretend like you've never known I've loved Bethel for most of the time I've been on this _planet."_

"You're as big an abomination as she is, for all the same reasons."

He tapped both of his ears, and Zelda immediately caught his drift.

She swelled up with rage. "How _dare_ you—you know that I wasn't born deaf, but at least _I_ went to _war_ , Solomon Esau Borin! I defended our country! What have _you_ done, but stayed in _Ohio_ to work on _farms_ for your entire life? Have any of you stopped to think that our main reason for leaving is _not_ entirely to do with this family? Or are you, Levi, and Philip just _that_ concerned with helping your parents maintain 'damage control' because you all will ask how high if they tell you to jump?"

Solomon appeared extremely affronted to be spoken to in such a manner, so he took a moment to gather himself.

Anouk chose this moment to pounce on Abby because she'd noticed her holding Abigail's hand.

"And _who_ are _you?"_ she asked the scientist.

"Abigail Sciuto, and I work here in this building."

"Who are you, to be holding our Abigail's hand in such a way?"

"I—"

Bethel cut across her. "She definitely isn't even any relation of yours. None of us are."

While this whole fight had been happening, the rest of the MCRT members not present had ever-so-quietly snuck over to watch. Even Ducky, Jimmy, and two of Abigail's probies probes were observing the showdown. Gibbs and Hollis continued to watch the whole scene in strange fascination because neither of them knew how to take the sight of Abigail Borin, so fired up. She was usually calm and collected.

In all of the commotion, they had all failed to notice Hennie waking up. She was a very heavy sleeper and had slept through everything so far. What had jolted her from sleep was a bad dream. Seeing a fight just made things confusing.

So she got up.

"Mummy?" she tugged on the hem of Bethel's shirt. "Mummy, what's wrong?"

Bethel's heart lurched when she saw the look on Hennie's face. She looked both confused, and on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry, my girl." Bethel picked Hennie up and kissed her on the top of her head. "Want to go to mumma, or keep sleeping?"

Hennie yawned as she thought about it. "Both."

"Okay. To mumma you go."

Bethel put Hennie in Zelda's arms before advancing on her parents and her brothers.

"That does it—you scared Hennie now. None of you are welcome back into our lives, or the lives of the children who will be joining our family later this year." (the others were taken aback by this announcement) "Unless a miracle occurs, or hell freezes over, all five of you are dead to us. We've been through hell recently, and we just need a place to rest. We are _tired."_

Vance finally moved in. He had to put out the fire he had started.

"Okay, I think that is more than enough for now." he inserted himself into the middle of the standoff. "That's _definitely_ enough."

Vance looked to two Van Dekker matriarchs.

"Bethel, Zelda, I _am_ sorry. I'll help with anything you need."

"Thank you, director." Bethel said in a slightly shaky tone. "That's very kind."

Vance nodded in acknowledgement and worked on herding Ezra, Anouk, Philip, Levi, and Solomon out of the room. Gibbs followed them. Everyone watching at the door moved swiftly out of their way.

Zelda hugged Bethel.

Abby hugged Abigail.

Each woman was hurt, and each had a partner at a loss for words. All they could do was hug each other.

It wasn't lost on Abigail that they had an audience, and when she turned around, she found her own people amongst the observers. The NCIS affiliates moved back.

Abigail addressed her probies. "Foster, Clemens, please come here."

They obeyed their CO, feeling like animals foolishly standing too close to predators at a watering hole.

"Yes, boss?" Clemens asked.

"How much of that episode with my family did you see? Tell the truth."

"I saw all of it."

"And will you be repeating any of it to Howard, Wright, Cook, Bell, or Gray?"

Those were the last names of the rest of the people on Abigail's team.

"I won't be, no."

"Good man." Abigail turned a sharp eye to Foster. "And you?"

"A-already forgotten." Foster stammered.

"That's what I want to hear."

Abigail spoke to Clemens and Foster as a unit.

"Please take the Van Dekkers to the bullpen, and help them find a hotel where they can crash for a few hours."

Bethel interjected quickly, "We have a hotel already."

Abigail put her hands on her hips. "When did you have time to secure a hotel room in the pandemonium?"

"Does it matter?"

"We both know that it does. _Where_ is your hotel?"

Bethel checked the information she had been given. "In the Southwest Waterfront. We'll ten minutes away—that's even closer, compared to where your house is, right?"

Abigail's daily commute was a bit of a ways.

"Right." she admitted. "How did you get a room?"

"Hollis helped."

"So much for me staying incognito!" Hollis cried, stomping one foot.

"Excuse me?" Abigail asked her.

"Look, Bethel asked me to get a hotel room for them because they're all _so_ tired. She made a point to tell me not to tell you because she felt that you can be a bit… _much."_

"I am _not!"_

Abby swooped in. "I think what Hollis means to say is that while you love Bethel as if she was your daughter, she just wanted help from someone with a clear head."

Bethel nodded emphatically. "That's exactly it."

Abigail capitulated. "Okay, Bethie. I understand."

"Thanks."

Abigail turned once more to Foster and Clemens.

"Take them to wherever they need to go, okay? And sit on their room—I don't want anyone going in unless they're deemed a non-threat. Am I understood?"

"Yes, m'am." they answered.

"Very good."

Abigail walked with Bethel, Zelda, and Hennie to the elevator. Abby walked behind them. Foster and Clemens brought up the rear.

"Psst! Hollis!"

The blonde looked around at the sound of her name to see Tony, Ziva, McGee, Ducky, and Palmer still watching from the doorway.

She rolled her eyes. _"What,_ Tony?"

"Is there anything that you would like for us to do?"

"I can't give any of you orders anymore, but I suggest that all of you go back to your work areas before Gibbs finds reasons to bark out lectures or pass around head slaps."

Hollis' message was received very clearly.

She was alone in the blink of an eye.

* * *

It hadn't been until recent years that Gibbs had finally come to understand Vance's often erratic but effective thought process when it came to executing executive commands. At least in Jenny's day he had noticed the methods to her madness right away. Leon Vance was far more complicated.

And Gibbs had a feeling that he knew what Vance had been playing at, the lounge, but he had to double check. It didn't stop him from being frustrated with Vance for being the catalyst for the destruction that they had all known was coming. Why couldn't his job ever be normal?

Gibbs caught up with Vance just as he showed the Borins into the conference room.

Sighing because he knew what was about to happen, Vance closed the door so the Borins wouldn't hear and turned to face the other man.

"Go." he said.

"Leon, what the hell was that?"

Vance's tone was maddeningly calm. "What was what?"

"Blindsiding Borin and her sister by showing up _unannounced_ with the rest of their family! Did anyone tell you what their relationship is like before you decided to go pull that stunt?"

"You done?"

"Yes." huffed Gibbs.

"First of all, I would have been able to tell a mile off that those people were Abigail's and Bethel's family because they each look like copies of each other. The Borins were introduced to me by the agent who escorted them up here from the lobby. I also speak Dutch like they do, so I was totally ready to jump in sooner with some of my own blindsiding if things had gotten any worse."

Gibbs' eyes grew wide as he echoed, "Any _worse—"_

Vance shut him down with just a look as he continued.

"Second, I know exactly what the fractured relationship was like because Ziva took the time to fill me in after she brought Bethel and Hennie over from the hospital. She spared no detail."

"Just like I taught her…"

"I'll make sure that any future interactions between the Borin daughters and their kin are supervised behind _shut_ doors, however." Vance reflected. "It's a shame that the countryside Borins can't appreciate the city Borins—or Zelda and Hennie—for who they are."

"Our unconventional family just got a little bigger."

"Yes, it did, which means that we're all going to have to step up to the plate while everyone heals. This all brings me to my last point, Jethro."

"And that is?"

"I wanted to test a theory: obviously, our friends from Ohio are split down the middle, much like two warring parties, but I wanted to see if the patriarch, matriarch, or male siblings knew about the _real_ reasons for the sudden exodus of the Van Dekkers."

"By which you mean the mess with Caplan and Forsythe."

"Bingo."

"They didn't say a word." Gibbs recalled. "They were also shocked when Bethel talked about being pregnant, and they seemed even more shocked to learn that the family drama wasn't the only reason they left home."

"Put all that together, and what do we have now?" Vance asked of his underling.

"We learned that your theory was right," Gibbs answered begrudgingly. "And our guest really _don't_ know what's going on. They would have reacted stronger if they did."

"Exactly. Now I'm going to catch them up, and see if I can learn anything new, since the Borins came all the way out here. Got a problem with that?"

Still in a begrudging way, Gibbs told him, "No, sir."

"Excellent. Now please pardon me."

And Vance went into the conference room, closing the door behind himself.

Gibbs trekked over to the elevator and pressed the down button. It was finally time to interrogate Knox Watson.

He was still stewing, however, over how things has transpired in the lounge. Abigail was hurt. Bethel was hurt. Zelda was hurt. Of course, Gibbs was no stranger to mending broken hearts, and he was already preparing for the likelihood of Abigail showing up to have a beer. She was family. But they were in for a rough road.

Gibbs' mood improved immediately when he saw that Hollis was on the lift. She even stopped it so they could talk privately.

"How are you, Leroy?" she purred. "I bet nobody ever asks you that, since you're always taking care of everyone else."

He sighed. "Hols, you hit the nail on the head."

"So, how _are_ you?"

"Sad for Abigail, Bethel, and Zelda, and upset that the other Borins are just as bad as they were letting on."

"That is definitely a travesty," Hollis agreed. "And I can't imagine that kind of heartbreak."

"We're going to have to look after them, you and I."

Hollis nodded. "Like parents."

Gibbs gave a small smile at her words, but it faded almost at once as he processed what Hollis' well-being inquiry meant in that moment. He even kissed Hollis' wrists and hands. They were like anchors to him. But Hollis as a whole had always been his haven. Always.

Of course, Hollis noticed the change in Gibbs' demeanor and grew concerned—a hallmark of this man's personality was, after all, his own stoic nature. Exactly what loose thread had been tugged on?

Hollis pressed gentle kisses of reassurance to Gibbs' throat, and held one of his hands to her lower middle. She was keeping her lover grounded in the present.

"Use your words, Leroy." she said. "It's okay."

He held her free hand to his cheek. "I'm a little freaked out, Holly. Everybody knows that I'm the leader and that I fix broken hearts, but this is just _different._ Do you know what I mean?"

"Uh-huh. This is because Abigail Borin is involved, as well as the main members of her immediate family. That woman has only ever been a colleague, and now she is _what_ to you?"

"The little sister I never got, but always wanted." Gibbs told her. "That's her heart, Bethel's and Zelda's, and probably even Abby's heart I'll have to deal with."

"The difference between today and all those other times that you've had to fix broken hearts is that you never had anyone to lean on, after. You have _me_ now. You will _always_ have me."

Hollis looked lovingly at Gibbs and caressed his cheek.

"There's one more thing you want to talk about, isn't there?"

Gibbs held Hollis' hands a little tighter. "I just have this feeling like we're not seeing something. It's important, too."

"Any idea what it could be?"

"No, and it's been bothering me a lot."

"Why?" Hollis challenged. "I haven't forgotten how much you rely on your gut feeling during a case, but it would take a _lot_ for something like this to spook someone like you."

"The last time I had a feeling like this…"

Gibbs trailed off. He was really bearing his soul, and he was rusty about it because he was a 'drown feelings in sorrow or whiskey' type. This was a big deal.

Hollis gave him another kiss. "Just say it."

"The last time I had this feeling, Jenny was dead the same day."

Hollis hugged Gibbs close, trying to give him as much comfort as she could.

She remembered Jenny well, and had always liked her. They'd even been drinking buddies every now and then. Jenny had even been aware of Hollis' attraction to Gibbs, and she'd always been cool about it, something that Hollis had always appreciated.

The old director had even initiated the moments of messing with Gibbs' head about the what the status of his relationship with Hollis was during the sparse occasions she'd been curious. But she had still backed off.

And after Hollis had been made aware of Gibbs' double status as a divorcee and a widower, she'd slowed down to learn the names of those other women.

Shannon.

Diane.

Stephanie.

Rebecca.

Jennifer.

While the director had technically never been one of Gibbs' wives, they had behaved married all the time. Everyone saw it.

Hollis also knew that she, herself, was the last name on that list. She also knew that she was a member of an even shorter list.

Gibbs' truest loves of his entire life.

Shannon. Jenny. Herself.

Hollis remembered finding out about the death of her friend, and how she had grieved such a tragic and horrific loss. She'd even stayed up all night with Gibbs when he came over to her house to do his own grieving. The only thing that had comforted her in the end was remembering how happy Gibbs and Jenny had made each other. Even on the days they bickered like they'd been married for fifty years.

"Jenny died doing what she believed was right," Hollis finally said. "And her body is free from pain. She's been watching over us from Heaven. She's been at peace for many years now."

Hollis kissed him a third time.

"I pray to God that none of us are met with another tragedy, but I promise that if we _are_ met with another storm, I'll be next to you, all the way through to the sunshine on the other side."

A big weight was lifted off Gibbs' shoulders, and he hugged her. "I love you, Hollis. I love you forever."

Hollis kissed him a fourth time.

"I love you forever, too."

She started the lift again and pressed the button that would take them to the floor where the interrogation rooms were.

Gibbs looked at her in surprise. "You're comin'?"

"For better, or for worse." she said cheekily. "I'm by your side for everything."

She handed Gibbs a file folder she'd been holding.

"Ziva gave me this to give to you. It's info on Watson."

Gibbs took the folder and skimmed through it. "Thanks."

The lift arrived at its destination, and they both disembarked.

"I'm not here in an official crimefighting capacity, like I used to be," Hollis told Gibbs as they walked along the orange corridor. "But I do have the rest of the afternoon open, and Leon told me I can stay as long as I want."

"Since you do consults now?"

Hollis nodded. "That, and you all are my family. I couldn't imagine anywhere else. Now go see if you can shake anything loose from Watson."

"Alright." Gibbs put his game face on. "I can do that."

He departed into the interrogation room.

Hollis watched from the observation point. Everyone else was upstairs and busy. So why wouldn't she lend a hand?

Yes, Hollis greatly enjoyed teaching and working on her memoir, but she had greatly missed this—adventures with NCIS. It felt good to be on the horse once more.

But just for a moment, Hollis' thoughts drifted again.

To being home with Gibbs and Cooper.

To being in bed with Gibbs, holding him.

To taking extra measures that would ensure their baby girl was on the way.

That sounded like the perfect way to end a day like this.

Hopefully, it would happen.

Hopefully.

She also wondered what Abby and Abigail were up to.


	23. Twenty Three

After seeing Bethel, Zelda, and Hennie off with Foster and Clemens, Abigail went back to lounge with Abby. For everything that had just happened, she was still just as shaken as she had been before she'd even ventured up from her lab. Something was wrong.

And Abigail needed to clear her head. Normally, she would have returned to the bullpen to help Gibbs' people keep their brainstormed ideas in a linear order, but she couldn't join them. Not just yet. The encounter with her parents and brothers had shaken her.

All she wanted was to be at home, kissing Abby.

Her heart jumped when she felt a hand on her chest.

Abby was touching her, to keep her present. She was her mainstay.

"How are you doing, beautiful?" Abby asked.

Abigail kissed her cheek. "I could ask _you_ the same thing."

"But _I_ asked _first."_

Abigail sighed. "I'm confused, hurt, and so _embarrassed_ by what my family said."

"They _were_ pretty awful." Abby agreed. "None of that was okay, and they should be ashamed."

"By they won't be. My parents and my brothers don't believe in the modern term of 'pray away the gay,' but they have the countryside version of electroshock therapy—amongst other things—up their sleeves."

Abby blanched. "Don't tell me they tried those things on you."

"They didn't, and I don't know that they've ever _actually_ employed these methods because they're already good scaring the fear of God into people. I ran _to_ boarding school to avoid them."

"Incredible." Abby remarked. "Your Ohio kin also appear to have missed the memo about Bethel being so strong-willed."

"Or that she has an equally strong-willed wife. My parents are forever shocked that out of six kids, two of us are openly defiant."

"So Bethel _would_ never go back to Charm." Abby realized.

Abigail shook her head. "Not to live, no. The only reason I can envision _any_ of the Van Dekkers returning is to clear their stuff out for good."

"And what do you think the chances of that are?"

"Pretty high." Abigail admitted.

"We should go, too—for moral support. I know you haven't been back in years, but _would_ you go?"

"Yes. For Bethel, Zelda, and Hennie, I will." Abigail took Abby's hand in hers and kissed it. "I'm so sorry that you had to see how atrocious the rest of the family is, but I'm glad that you can recognize them for the kind of people they are. Most people back home see my parents through rose-colored glasses."

"Yikes."

Abigail kissed Abby's hand a few more times. "It also makes me happy that you want to help Bethel, Zelda, and Hennie start over, when you didn't even know of them a week ago."

"They're part of my family now, just as much as you are, Abigail. I want to show them that there's more than one of family. They deserve to know."

"Definitely, and you're the perfect person to show them that."

Abby kicked at an imaginary piece of dirt in the carpet. "Shucks."

"Starshine, what do you think of inviting the Van Dekkers to stay at the house until they get back on their feet?"

"It's a great idea, but it's _your_ house. I'm just staying there for two weeks."

Abigail kissed her. "It could be forever, if you want."

This threw Abby for a loop. "I—really?"

"Really, and that _was_ an invitation. Just think it over, okay?"

Abby nodded. "Okay…"

Pleased that Abby was a little more steady now, Abigail gently pried the evidence bag out of her hands. She had started reading the letter inside, but hadn't had a chance finish it because of the Borins' arrival.

It was time to try again.

 _Abby—_

 _It's Oliver._

 _I know that it's been forever and a day, and I am so sorry about walking away from you, all those years ago. Can you ever forgive me? I'll understand if you say no. If you're wondering how I figured out where you work, let's just say that I have connections everywhere in this town. And I've missed you. Don't be angry._

 _I need help._

 _I've done some terrible things, and I regret them, but as for the worst of what you'll find me linked to, that wasn't me. I am innocent. The trouble is with Lieutenant Noah Forsythe, from the Coast Guard. I found out some things about him that I shouldn't have, and he knows. Forsythe has also threatened to sell me out if I turn on him. I'm stuck._

 _You're the only person I could think of to help me out of this mess._

 _Maybe after all this is over, we could have a do-over. I'm so sorry for everything I did to you. Everyone deserves a second chance, and I would love to have one with you. We could even try for kids again if you wanted._

 _Hopefully yours._

Abigail set the evidence bag down and looked to her girlfriend, trying to fathom any of what she was feeling. But she couldn't. No wonder Abby had been in such a daze.

"I would have said no." Abby said softly. "Even if you and I weren't together, I still would have turned him down. His words just paint him as delusional. That kind of thing is _not_ for me."

"I believe it." Abigail replied honestly.

"Had you ever heard of the lieutenant before now? Since he's Coast Guard?"

"No, and even if Oliver had crossed my radar, we would have sniffed all of this out a long time ago."

Abby shuddered as a sudden idea popped into her head. "What if the lieutenant was an imposter or a chameleon this whole time?"

"That's not a bad thought." Abigail praised. "Hey, did this letter come in an envelope?"

Abby bobbed her head. "It's down in the lab, but I haven't analyzed it with Major Mass Spec yet."

"You got too turned around to think about everything else, I'm guessing?"

"That's right."

"With Leon talking to my family, the Van Dekkers gone to the waterfront so they can _sleep,_ and Gibbs gone to talk to Watson, that leaves you with me. We'll work together to break open a new angle of this case."

Abby began perking up. "I like the sound of that, but you forgot Hollis in that lineup."

Abigail smirked. "She would follow Gibbs to the end of time, and would walk over hot coals for her. Dollars to donuts will say that she followed Gibbs to watch the interrogation."

"You're not wildly off the mark with that conclusion, but I'm more of a beignet person." Abby chirped. "Have you ever made a flour bomb before?"

This had been such an abrupt change in topic that Abigail almost stopped in her tracks as she followed Abby out of the room.

"You are the queen of super left turns, but no. I've never made a _flour bomb."_ she sputtered. "Why?"

"Luca and I accidentally made one the first time that our parents taught us how to make beignets from scratch."

"Oh, I want to hear all about it."

Abby told her everything.

* * *

Meanwhile, the countryside Borins were letting even more of their true colors show as they gossiped and conspired with each other in Dutch about NCIS, 'the big city,' and just what they intended to do with Bethel when they returned to Charm. It was as if a writer had dreamt them up.

Vance took a seat at the head of the table to watch the conversation. It was fascinating in a terrible way.

Ezra and Anouk were arguing about just _how_ they were going to get Bethel to reconsider her attraction to her wife, while Philip was talking them in a direction. Levi chose that moment to be a stick in the mud about about the design of NCIS HQ—the futuristic look was too much grandeur for him. Solomon grumbled to no one in particular about how they were wasting time when they could be back home in the fields. They were all unreal.

Had this family _really_ produced Abigail and Bethel? Those two were _far_ nicer… and more _normal_ compared to the rest of the people at the table. It blew Vance's mind that they were related to them at all.

He finally chose to remind the Borins that he was there, and he did it in a way that would catch their attention.

 _"_ _Ophouden!"_

The Borins each halted in their tracks, shocked. Vance had told them, in perfect Dutch, to cease. He then spoke with such authority that they were stunned into further silence.

"Yes," he said. "I do understand and speak your first language perfectly well because I worked abroad in Amsterdam for a long while. That means I've followed everything you've said amongst yourselves since arriving to NCIS—including your berating of and plans for your only daughters. They are friends of mine. As long as they're here, I won't let you touch either one of them. Neither will anyone else in this building."

Ezra Borin laughed a soft, humorless laugh that put the director in mind of a snake oil salesman.

He even stroked his long beard as he replied, "I'm impressed—truly—that you speak Dutch, sir. It isn't a common language."

"And I'm not a common guy, Mister Borin."

"Clearly not. How _we_ deal with _our_ family's failings is no business of yours."

"It is if you start talking about taking Bethel home against her will. I have a moral obligation to protect her _and_ her family. Bethel also happens to be an adult. Abigail, too." Vance returned smoothly. "I won't let any of you touch either of them."

Ezra Borin was known as a ruler of the roost, back home. He even ran his farm with an ironclad fist. He wasn't unkind to the people who worked for him, but he really didn't tolerate being pushed around. Especially by a stranger.

All the same he was at _Vance's_ roost. He was just a guest.

So…

"Fine." Ezra relented. "We will back off, sir."

"Thank you." replied Vance. "First of all—how did you all arrive so quickly? The Van Dekkers only just made it here this morning."

Ezra continued to stroke his beard. "Airplanes are very fast, and it wasn't hard to locate Abigail's agency after that when we landed. Finding yours was even easier."

Vance leaned back in his chair. "When we were down in the lounge, Zelda said that the reasons they left aren't _all_ because of your family. Remember that?"

"I do."

"Excellent. The Van Dekkers do have a lot of issues right now, and I'm pretty impressed that they made it from deep Ohio to the nation's capital in the time that they did—that takes a bit of thinking."

"Then what do you want to know?"

"Let's just assume that I know everything about the _unrest,_ and whatnot."

"Like Bethel's blights?" Philip jeered. "Our parents always told her that they would be a hinderance in the real world, and that it would do her good to just stay in Charm. But she still carried on with her incurable flights of fancy."

Vance arched an eyebrow. "By 'blights,' I think you mean your sister's differences, and yes, I also know that she is deaf. I also know about the autism. Those qualities make Bethel _unique."_

Philip made another jeer. "Bethel still had sexual relations with a man who—"

The director slammed a hand down on the table. "But _that_ was against her will, and the attitude your whole family is treating the situation with is _why_ Bethel fled. She didn't have a choice!"

Philip made to fire a further comeback, but Solomon put a hand on his shoulder to restrain him.

"What is your next question, please, director?" Solomon asked in the most polite tone he could muster.

"Do the names Oliver Caplan, Noah Forsythe, or Knox Watson mean anything to anyone at this table?"

"Not to me, no."

"I don't recognize those names, either, sir." Philip added.

"Same goes for me." Levi chimed in.

Both of the Borin elders admitted the same as their sons.

Anouk said, the contempt evaporating from her tone, "We may be set in 'old world ways,' Director Vance, but that is the lifestyle that I, my husband, and my sons have chosen to lead. We don't agree with how Abigail and Bethel are living their lives, but we _do_ care if they live or die. What have these men done?"

Vance told the Borins everything.

Rightfully so, each where a mixture of aghast and horrified by the end. Thing like this were supposed to happen to _other_ people. Not them.

But just like Vance had thought, none of the countryside Borins had any previous knowledge of the events that had taken place. They were innocent. Their expressions and reactions were all the proof that he needed. If anything, he had learned that in spite of Anouk's show of heart, she and her spouse, and their first three offspring were just terrible people.

"Alright." Vance told the family at large. "We've covered everything."

Ezra looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Really."

Anouk spoke up. "Will your team and Abigail's catch whomever is behind everything?"

"We will."

The matriarch nodded in understanding and then looked to her husband. So did each of the Borin sons. They were all waiting for Ezra to make the next move.

"That _is_ everything?" he pressed.

"Yes." Vance rose to his feet. "It is."

Ezra also stood, his family following suit. "Then we will be on our way to get the next bus back to Charm."

Vance felt sad at how little concern Ezra was showing about everything. No wonder Abigail and Bethel had rejected them.

"You didn't want to check on Abigail, or wait for Bethel?" he asked as he held the door open for them.

"No. You heard my daughters—they don't want us. The feeling is mutual."

Vance resigned himself to escorting the family down to the lobby on the first floor. He left them as they began to discuss how to make it to the train station.

After that, he headed to the interrogation room floor. It was time to see if Gibbs had made Watson start sweating yet. What definitely didn't surprise him was that Hollis was already watching.

She even jumped when she realized that Vance had joined her.

"Leon," she blew out a breath. "You startled me."

He raised an eyebrow at her as he closed the door behind him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Hollis confirmed. "I was just lost in thought for a minute."

"Oh? About what?"

"Family things."

This meant dinner at home with Gibbs and Cooper later that evening. Or maybe even pawning her son off on a family member. _More_ uninterrupted time with Gibbs actually sounded pretty perfect.

"Right." said Vance. "I just had a chat with Borins one through five."

"Oh, dear." Hollis winced. "How did that go?"

"I had the pleasure of learning that all of them are innocent."

"Okay. I'll take that. Are they as terrible as we saw, in the lounge?"

"No. They're worse."

Hollis grew stricken as her friend gave her a recap.

"And then they just _left?"_ she squawked when he finished.

"Unfortunately, yes. They just treated the conversation like a business transaction."

"Wow."

Vance heaved a sigh. "I doubt that _we'll_ see those Borins again, but someone is going to have to go tell Abigail that they're gone."

"I will." Hollis decided. "She's probably in the lab now, and I'm better suited to think on my feet over there."

Hollis actually just wanted a reason to stop daydreaming about Gibbs. Visiting the lab was the perfect cure.

"Excuse me, Leon." she said. "You know where I'll be."

Hollis departed the viewing room quickly.

Vance turned to the viewing window to watch Gibbs. He was definitely making Watson sweat.

"So," Gibbs' tone was near a growl. "You're _sure_ that you've never seen any of these people before today?"

He was pointing to an enlarged photo of the Van Dekkers.

"No, sir, I haven't!" Watson cried. "It's the _truth!"_

Something about Watson's protests—for however convincing they were—sounded fake to Gibbs.

"Then why were you rude to Bethel Van Dekker at the train station?" Gibbs demanded.

 _"_ _Who?"_

Gibbs jabbed a finger at Bethel's image. _"Her!"_

Watson spared Bethel's picture a cursory glance before looking to Gibbs once more. "How do you know I even saw this woman?"

"Besides the fact that she remembered you enough to describe you, and provide us with your name?"

Gibbs flipped through the contents of his folder—Watson's interaction with Bethel had been caught on camera. The techies at the security office had been kind enough to email the proof over to Ziva at Gibbs' request. In turn, she printed everything for use in the interrogation.

"Try this on for size." Gibbs laid the picture down. "Watson, that's you talking to my friend, Bethel Van Dekker before ultimately turning her away when all she wanted was _help!"_

Watson sneered. "Then she should have tried harder, shouldn't she?"

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. Watson had caved a little too easily, but still seemed to be holding on to some information. What did he know?

 _"How_ could she try harder? Bethel was frightened, and she's _deaf!"_

Watson's tone was full of arrogance. "How is that _my_ concern?"

"Zhou and Sanchez were right—you _are_ a woman-water."

The sneer on Watson's face grew more pronounced at the officers' names, but he said nothing.

"They even recognized you when we ran it by them, _and_ they pointed you out to me _at_ the train station!" Gibbs continued. "Bethel was also sure to tell us the part about how you called her a bad name!"

Watson remained silent.

Gibbs went on even more.

"Not only did Zhou and Sanchez describe you as a woman-hater, but they also told us that you're about to wash out of law enforcement altogether, anyway! Only someone _that_ full of themselves could be so cruel to a worried woman in desperate need. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Watson leaned forward, across the table as he spoke again. _"I_ was just doing my _job."_

"On whose authority?"

"You'll never find out."

Watson was now so calm that Gibbs knew he should leave the room, lest he do some physical damage to the man. This was going to take some time.

Gibbs also knew that they were being strung along—the feeling of dread he had mentioned to Hollis hadn't evaporated yet.

But now they could work with the fact that Watson was a willing pawn in someone else's grand scheme of… _something._ It was a start. Flimsy, but a start.

And Gibbs hadn't even mentioned Caplan or Forsythe. He'd save _that_ for later.

Without a word of explanation, he gathered up the items he'd arrived with and exited the room. Vance was waiting for him.

"You rattled his cage." he remarked. "Good job, Gibbs."

"Thanks, director. What all did you see?"

"I arrived when you started leaning into him for information about how sure he was that he'd never seen Bethel before today. Watson is holding to something, but the one granule that _did_ get out shows that you caught the middleman."

"Now it's just a matter of figuring out what his weak spot is."

Gibbs turned and began walking away. Vance followed him.

"Just where are you going?" Vance asked.

Gibbs tried not to sound too much like an impatient child. "Knox Watson may be a stubborn _jackass,_ but that doesn't mean we can't check him out, anyway."

"You're going to do a background check, huh?"

Gibbs nodded as they boarded the elevator and he pressed the up button.

"I am."

"Leave no stone unturned, Gibbs."

"That's the plan, director. That's the plan."

"Perfect."

The doors closed after that.


	24. Twenty Four

Hollis wasn't sure what to expect when going down to Abby's laboratory. This was always the case. Literally anything could happen in that room. Anything.

Today, she was thrown.

Hollis didn't expecting to find Abigails Borin and Sciuto just being still. They were both staring into space, quiet, thinking. It was a little odd.

They didn't even see her.

Hollis cleared her throat.

The Abigails jumped.

The raven-haired one beckoned to her. "Hey, Hollis. Has there been a break?"

"In a manner of speaking." came the reply.

"Only a manner? What about the rest?"

Hollis informed her friends of what she'd seen of Gibbs' interrogation with Knox Watson.

"Hm." Abby mused. "I guess that's just as good a lead as any until Major Mass Spec remembers what his job is."

"What's he supposed to analyzing?" Hollis asked gently.

"A clue that brought me up to the lounge in the first place—it's a letter from a ghost of my past. I'm sure you've heard by now that I recognized Oliver Caplan?"

Hollis nodded. "I did hear that, yes."

"I almost married the man a long time ago. I was even pregnant, bu there was a miscarriage." Abby continued with no preamble. "We would have had twins."

"Oh, Abby…"

"It was a long time ago." she said in a dismissive tone. "What's important right _now_ is that Oliver explained his version of events in the letter—including the fact that he knew just what Forsythe was up to, and that Forsythe was aware."

"Then there must have been a good reason that Caplan couldn't or didn't reach out until now."

Abby answered her dryly. "Forsythe had threatened him for a few reasons, apparently."

Hollis rubbed her temples. "How _exactly_ did you come across this letter from your former fiancé?"

"Ducky and Palmer found it in his jacket pocket. It was brought over to me."

"I see. What happened when you finished the letter? You decided to come find us, but ended up encountering the drama in the lounge first?"

"Correctomundo. I didn't even think of scanning for prints until _after_ that went down." Abby admitted. "The original copy is in the scanner, but you can read it on this regular screen here."

Abby pointed to the screen that she and Abigail were parked in front of.

Hollis read it all.

By the end, she felt as much pity for her as she already did for Abigail. She'd have to do something nice for them when this was all over. Maybe bring them a homemade dinner. Hanging out at Gibbs' place when—because it would definitely happen—Abigail came to have a beer and a heart-to-heart was definitely a priority.

And she still hadn't even gotten to the purpose of her visit yet.

"How are you?" Hollis asked Abby.

"Upset on a number of levels, but so grateful that I have Abigail at my side."

Hollis regarded the redhead. She had yet to say anything.

"What's going on in _your_ head?"

Abigail finally spoke. "I've been angry at my parents before, but I've never been _this_ angry. I won't ever be able to talk to them or my brothers when this is done."

"What about Bethel, Zelda, and Hennie? Do you think they'll talk to your countryside family again?"

"Hell, no. They're hurting more than I am. " Abigail made a slashing motion with her arms. "After Abby and I go back to Ohio to help the Van Dekkers clean out their home, we're going to help them heal—they seriously need it."

Hollis rewarded Abigail with an affectionate smile. It amazed her that even hurting badly as this woman was, she still had such a strong capacity for love.

"It sounds like you have things hammered out. I'm really happy for you."

Abigail blushed. "You didn't come all the way down here just to check on us, huh? We've been rambling."

Hollis answered her very calmly. "I actually did come to check on you and Abby because I care deeply about both of you, but I also came to deliver an update on your parents and your brothers."

"Oh?"

"They left, Abigail. I'm sorry."

Abigail nearly broke. Nearly.

A tremble could be heard on the edge of her voice. "What did they say?"

"I wasn't there for the final departure, but Leon was. He said that your family treated the whole chat as a business transaction." Hollis told her. "Leon also said that your father admitted to not wanting you or your sister because neither you nor Bethel want him, or your mother and brothers. His words were, 'the feeling is mutual.' I'm so sorry."

Abigail's knelt on the floor crying, her normally steely resolve gone. She and Bethel had been officially abandoned by their family.

Abby knelt beside her girlfriend and hugged her. She couldn't fathom what it was like to have a family so terrible. Severing ties with the countryside Borins was really beginning to sound like a good idea.

"I'm so sorry, babe." she kissed Abigail's brow. "At least there's more than one kind of family. I'll make sure that you, Bethel, Zelda, and Hennie all know that. Just don't forget."

Abigail breathed a sigh of relief. "I won't, beautiful."

Hollis knelt in front of Abigail and held out a box of tissues. "Here you go."

When Abigail was composed and cleaned up, she stood.

"Thank you, both." she said to her companions.

Hollis winked at Abigail. "Anything for family."

Abby nodded in agreement. "What she said."

"What now?" Hollis asked after a beat.

"How is Cooper?" Abigail blurted.

"Oh, he's going so great—he's totally recovered from what happened at the arcade. Look."

Hollis showed her friends a picture of Cooper on her phone. It had been taken at the diner during their breakfast date with Gibbs. Cooper could be seen grinning at the camera, from over a mountain of pancakes that were waiting to devoured. The little boy looked to be in paradise. All of his worries from the day before were far behind him.

"That makes me so happy. Thanks for showing us."

"You're quite welcome." Hollis chirped as she pocketed her phone. "Both of you are more than welcome to come for a visit, any time."

Abigail opened her mouth to reciprocate the invitation, but was cut off by Major Mass Spec beeping. The searching had finally yielded results. In the hallway, they heard the elevator doors ding and slide open. Gibbs disembarked.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Hollis and both Abigails gaping openly at him.

"What?" he said as she joined them. "Did I interrupt a powwow?"

Hollis looked over at Abby. "And we're _sure_ that there aren't any cameras or microphones in here?"

"Yes." Abby said confidently. "I've searched more than once."

Abigail rolled her eyes. "Of course you have."

Gibbs held out the fresh Caff-Pow cup he'd stopped to get for Abby on the way over. At least he could always be counted on for a sense of routine.

"Nothing to worry about, Abs." he said when he saw her take the drink, but eye it with caution. "It's the regular cherry flavor."

She breathed a sigh of relief and lifted the drink in the fashion of clinking a glass. "Thanks. Much obliged."

Gibbs gave her a salute, and then shifted his attention to Abigail.

"How are you?" he gave his friend a back rub. "Sorry that your parents and your brothers are all jerks."

"Thank you for the sympathy, Leroy. That means a lot."

"Good."

Gibbs then surveyed Abigail, Abby, and Hollis as a whole.

"What do you got?" he asked them.

Abby set her drink down and motioned for him to look the main screen.

She gave Gibbs a rundown of what the letter from Caplan had said before finishing off with, "We came down here to see what Major Mass Spec would scare up for us in terms of more clues. Hollis turned up a little after, and then you did. Now here we are."

"I consider myself caught up." Gibbs pointed to the monitor, where the 'search completed' box was still going. "What's the word?"

"These are the fingerprint results from the letter. We wanted to see who all had handled it, and… hm…"

Abby had opened the box to see what they'd be met with.

Mysteries were part of the whole part and parcel when it came to her job at NCIS—which was fine, because she and the team always handled them. They were crimefighters. It was the way things were.

But then came the occasional, extremely random curveballs.

Oliver Caplan's fingerprints had been found and identified. That was good. That was _definitely_ good.

What _wasn't_ good was the results of the second fingerprint match.

"This is bad." Hollis murmured. "Bad, bad, bad."

She wasn't wrong.

"Are you _positive_ that this is correct?" Gibbs asked Abby.

The scientist nodded emphatically. "DNA and fingerprints can't lie. My machines definitely don't."

Abigail exhaled noisily. "If life was boring, none of us in this room would know each other or have jobs."

They'd been met with a DMV photo, instead of a service record photo. The man pictured looked rough, gritty. Not a people person. But still, something was off… Just a little bit…

As if this wasn't the same person they had been expecting.

Because it wasn't.

"Well," Abigail quipped. "Abby posited that Forsythe was a chameleon. It looks like her hunch paid off."

"It was more like a wild guess with humungous dash of conjecture." Abby said humbly. "It's nothing, really."

Gibbs praised, "You still broke the case wide open. Great job."

"But… You saw the man that we thought—up until a second ago—was Noah Forsythe, and _I_ also saw him. Right?"

"Right."

"This new guy in the DMV photo looks like he could be the brother of the dead man." Abby elaborated. "There are just enough differences, though, to see that these are two different people."

"But those things wouldn't be noticed unless a person looked extra close." Hollis chimed in.

"Bingo." confirmed Abigail.

"So that leaves a question. A thickened plot, too." Abby sighed. "What the _hell_ happened to the real Noah Forsythe, and who the hell is the guy in the morgue?"


End file.
